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SALT LAKE CITY — The University of Utah athletics department announced a four-year contract extension for men’s basketball head coach Larry Krystkowiak Wednesday.
The extension goes through the 2022-23 season and will be worth $9.6 million over the life of the contract ($2.4 million per season), according to athletics director Dr. Chris Hill.
“Our men’s basketball program has made tremendous strides these past four season under Coach Krystkowiak,” Hill said in a prepared statement. “The success of a program starts with its head coach and he has provided outstanding leadership for our student-athletes. Larry is aware of his value to our program.
“It is clear that his success has been noted throughout the country and we are pleased to be able to solidify his commitment to our program,” Hill added.
The latest contract extension is the second extension Krystkowiak has received since coming to the University of Utah. Last year, Krystkowiak renegotiated his contract to a five-year deal through the 2018-19 season. Krystkowiak was set to make just under $1.6 million for the upcoming season.
“I want to thank Dr. Hill and President (David) Pershing for their amazing support of the men’s basketball team,” Krystkowiak said in a prepared statement. “We always speak about the culture within our program and a big part of that is realizing who we are. I’m a big believer in those I work for, those I work with, and the student-athletes I get to coach.
It is clear that his success has been noted throughout the country and we are pleased to be able to solidify his commitment to our program.
–Dr. Chris Hill
“This is an amazing university with an incredible basketball program; one which I feel very proud and humbled to be a part of,” he added.
The latest contract extension puts Krystkowiak in similar terms with Arizona's Sean Miller, who is set to make $2.6 million in the last year of his contract, and would rank Krystkowiak in the top three paid coaches in the Pac-12.
The university did not indicate whether the coaching staff would receive a similar contract extension. But Hill said last week that the university had plans to take care of its assistant coaches.
“It’s just part of standard procedure that you build a relationship with a coach and make sure you treat the coach fairly and do what you can, in many ways, to make sure the coach feels good here and that the coach can be successful,” Hill said.
Under Krystkowiak's leadership, Utah returned to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2005 in his fourth year with the program. The program finished the regular season tied for second place with Oregon and was ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 for all but one week of the season.
The exact details of Krystkowiak’s contract are not immediately known, but will be reported once the information has been obtained.
