A new contract extension could keep Chris Holtmann in Columbus for the next six seasons.
Pending final Board of Trustees approval, the head basketball coach at Ohio State is receiving a three-year contract extension that runs through the 2027-28 campaign. With five years under his belt already at Ohio State, Holtmann will now be under contract for 11 seasons in total.
Holtmann was previously under contract through the 2024-25 season, a deal he signed in 2017 that paid him $3 million annually in total compensation. On his new contract, Holtmann will receive a $500,000 salary increase, bringing his total annual compensation to $3.5 million per year with a $1 million base salary.
Holtmann is 107-56 with the Buckeyes through his first 163 games at the helm, and if you include the 2019-20 season (which was curtailed by COVID-19), all five of his Ohio State teams would have made the NCAA Tournament to start off his Buckeye career. The only other Ohio State head coach to appear in at least five straight NCAA Tournaments was Holtmann's predecessor, Thad Matta, who went to seven straight from 2008-09 to 2014-15.
Ohio State achieved its highest NCAA Tournament seed under Holtmann two seasons ago, when the Buckeyes secured a No. 2 slot after reaching the Big Ten Tournament championship game for the first time in eight years. However, Ohio State suffered an upset loss in the first round of the Big Dance that year, and following a Round of 32 loss this past March, none of Holtmann's Buckeye teams have made it past the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
On his latest performance review, which evaluated the 2020-21 slate, Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith said Holtmann did “an exceptional job,” and Smith said at a press conference this past February he was pleased with where the Buckeye basketball program is at.
“I’m really happy with where we are. We strive for championships, there’s no question about that, and we need to get there – and we will,” Smith said. "But you look at his recruiting and it’s off the chain. I just love the teaching he does. … I feel real good about what he’s doing, feel real good about his recruiting.”
Holtmann's incoming five-man recruiting class ranks No. 6 in the nation, his best mark as Ohio State head coach, and No. 1 in the Big Ten.
Holtmann was one of five Ohio State head coaches to receive a contract extension Wednesday, with Ryan Day also notching a new deal that will pay him $9.5 million through the 2028 football season.
Ohio State women’s basketball coach Kevin McGuff is receiving a new four-year contract that will pay him $1.05 million per year. Men’s lacrosse coach Nick Myers is signing a five-year contract that will run through the 2027 season, while men’s hockey coach Steve Rohlik is getting a two-year contract extension that runs through the 2025-26 season.
