KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee has extended the contracts of nine coaches, including Tony Vitello, who took the Volunteers to their first College World Series in 16 years.
Athletic director Danny White said Tuesday he wanted to acknowledge he inherited an impressive roster of coaches when he was hired in January.
“That’s a credit to those who came before me,” White said. “Extending contracts for successful coaches is one indicator of a healthy athletics program, and we plan on continuing to be aggressive with extensions and rewarding success moving forward.”
Vitello coached the Vols to 50 victories for the third time in program history. They won the Southeastern Conference Eastern Division title for the first time since 1997. Tennessee hosted an NCAA regional for the first time since 2005, then its first super regional. Vitello’s new contract runs through the 2026 season.
Basketball coaches Rick Barnes and Kellie Harper both got two years added to their contracts with extensions through the 2025-26 seasons. Barnes just signed the No. 3 recruiting class in the country, while Harper became the second women’s coach to take four different programs to the NCAA Tournament.
Others to receive extensions include rowing coach Lisa Glenn through June 2024, swimming and diving coach Matt Kredich through the 2025-26 season, women’s tennis coach Alison Ojeda, men’s tennis coach Chris Woodruff, men’s golf coach Brennan Webb and softball coach Karen Weekly.
Tennessee was one of three Division I schools to reach the NCAA Tournament in men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s tennis, rowing, softball and baseball. Eleven Tennessee teams finished the season ranked in the top 25 nationally.
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