Tennessee announced a major contract extension for baseball coach Tony Vitello on Friday afternoon that makes the 45-year old the highest paid coach in all of college baseball. The contract extension is for five years and pays Vitello $3 million a year.
“Tony and his staff have developed the country’s top baseball program, and we are excited to announce this long-term extension to keep Tony on Rocky Top,” Tennessee Director of Athletics Danny White said in a statement. “As an athletics department, we aim to lead the way in college sports, and Tony has created a baseball program that sets the standard across the entire sport. The on-field results in the nation’s best conference are unmatched, and the enthusiasm he has brought to Vol Nation has been incredible to witness.”
The deal is Tennessee’s latest commitment to baseball that also includes additions to the Vols’ assistant salary pool. Tennessee is currently undergoing major renovations to Lindsey Nelson Stadium which will make the Vols’ home ballpark one of the best in the sport.
Part of Vitello’s extension includes an increase to his assistant coach salary pool. The details of that part of the contract are currently unclear. Tennessee baseball had an assistant coach salary pool of a minimum of $900,000 annually before Vitello’s extension.
“With the new hires we made this summer, we wanted to take care in solidifying what we knew was inevitable, that being our athletic department and coaching staff wanting to be teammates for a long time,” Vitello said in a statement.
“Our staff and our program take confidence in the fact that our administration is more invested in our sport than anywhere else in the country when you consider resources, their commitment to our staff and the stadium project. At the end of the day, we know our great Vol fans are the origin of these resources and we look forward to continually working hard to make them proud to be a part of Vol Nation.”
Vitello previously signed a contract extension with Tennessee following the 2021 season and then again back in May with Tennessee never announcing that extension. Before this latest extension, Vitello was making $1.5 million a year.
Tennessee’s highly successful head coach’s new extension includes a restructuring of his bonuses. He will get one bonus every season based on the maximum achievement of the team. Those achievements include making the NCAA Tournament, hosting a regional, winning the SEC Regular Season, winning the SEC Tournament, making it to the Super Regionals and making it to the College World Series Finals. Those bonuses range from between $20,000 and $200,000.
Vitello led Tennessee to its first National Championship in his seventh season as the Vols’ head coach. Tennessee turned in one of the best seasons in SEC history, becoming the first team to win 60 games and parlaying its National Championship with SEC Regular-Season and Tournament Championships.
The 45-year old head coach inherited a program that was one of the SEC’s worst when he arrived in the summer of 2017. Prior to Vitello’s arrival, Tennessee hadn’t reached the NCAA Tournament in 13 years and hadn’t won a SEC Tournament game in 11 years.
After getting back to the NCAA Tournament in 2019 and COVID-19 cancelling the 2020 season, Tennessee baseball’s program has skyrocketed making the College World Series in 2021, 2023 and 2024. The Vols won the SEC Regular-Season and Tournament Championships in both 2022 and 2024.
It’s by far the best four-year stretch in program history and the Vols have been the best college baseball program in the nation over tat same four-year stretch.
Texas A&M reportedly made a real run at Vitello after Tennessee defeated the Aggies in the National Championship but Vitello opted to stay in Knoxville and signed a contract extension with Tennessee.
