Arizona extends contract with head coach, Tommy Lloyd

TUCSON, Ariz. (KOLD News 13) - Tommy Lloyd, the head coach for the University of Arizona men’s basketball team, has signed on to an additional five years with the university. The contract includes $19 million in total compensation.

This comes after a successful first season for Lloyd as a head coach where he and his team received several accolades.

During the 2021-22 academic year he was named National Coach of the Year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches, the U.S. Basketball Writers Association, and The Associated Press, making him the first Wildcats men’s basketball head coach to receive those awards.

Lloyd also led his team to a 33-4 overall record. The 33 victories are the second highest in NCAA history for a head coach in their first season.

Arizona won the conference’s regular season title with an 18-2 record and the Pac-12 Tournament title. Under Lloyd’s leadership the team became the first Pac-12 team to ever win 18 regular season conference games.

“Our men’s basketball program was reestablished as one of the nation’s best in the first year of Tommy’s leadership,” said Dave Heeke, the vice president and director of athletics at Arizona.

There were also several individual student-athletes that received awards with the guidance of Lloyd.

Sophomore Bennedict Mathurin was named a consensus All-American, the Pac-12 Player of the Year, and Most Outstanding Player of the Pac-12 Tournament. Mathurin also scored an impressive 655 points throughout the season.

Christian Koloko, a junior, was awarded the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year and Most Improved Player of the Year. Koloko tied the Arizona single-season record for blocked shots with 102 and increased his scoring output by 7.3 points per game from his sophomore year to his junior year.

Azuolas Tubelis, Dalen Terry, and Pelle Larsson, who are all sophomores, also received awards and honorable mentions.

“I am thankful for the continued support of Arizona basketball, but our players and staff deserve credit for making my first year a special one,” Lloyd said. “Everyone played an important role in helping us win two Pac-12 championships while competing at the highest level.”

The Wildcats not only set records on the court, but also in the classroom. They earned a team GPA of 3.14, which is the highest on record in the history of the men’s basketball program.