INDIANAPOLIS — Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd definitively put an end to all the North Carolina speculation on Friday.
The 51-year-old coach of the Wildcats announced at his early afternoon press conference that he will not be going to UNC and has instead agreed to terms of a new contract with the University of Arizona. Lloyd had played coy and was noncommittal multiple times earlier this week when asked about the vacant UNC job and his public connection to the opening, stirring understandable anxiety for the U of A fan base.
“I’m happy to announce I’m staying at Arizona,” Lloyd said Friday at Lucas Oil Stadium during the press conference before the Wildcats’ game on Saturday vs. Michigan in the Final Four. “We’ve been able to get some things done the past couple (of) days. Arizona basketball, you guys know what it means to me, and when I say it’s a special place, that always comes from the bottom of my heart.”
Sources told CBS Sports that Lloyd was North Carolina’s No. 1 target upon Hubert Davis’ formal firing on March 24, and that UNC’s aggressive push combined with some major details to be worked out at Arizona led to more than a week’s worth of negotiating between Lloyd’s camps and the school. Outgoing UNC athletic director Bubba Cunningham made multiple attempts to reel in Lloyd, who’s won more games through his first five seasons (148) than any men’s college basketball coach in history. The Tar Heels job is considered one of the very best in college basketball, and as such, UNC was prepared to offer Lloyd one of the richest contracts in the sport. Lloyd will be taking less money to remain at Arizona, though sources say his new salary will be $7.2 million annually, which would be No. 4 among public school coaches (private schools such as Duke do not disclose salary numbers). Lloyd’s pay for the 2025-26 season was $4.85 million.
“It’s an honor to even be considered for that job,” Lloyd said. “The young kid, for me the college basketball junkie watching those games at home, never would have thought something like that could have happened to somebody like me. North Carolina is a first-class organization, and I appreciate them for the way they’ve handled this.”
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Lloyd is in for the long haul at Arizona thanks to a major condition of his new deal: Lloyd will no longer report to his athletic director, Desireé Reed-Francois and will instead report to Arizona president Suresh Garimella. Lloyd’s working relationship with Reed-Francois has faced serious friction in recent years due to battles of NIL and staff benefits.
Lloyd’s new deal is expected to be for five years with a boost in salary pool for assistants and incentive structure for his coaching staff as well.
With Lloyd operating from a position of extreme leverage, he was able to do what he wanted the whole thing: stay in Tucson. He’s brought Arizona to its first Final Four in 25 years and is two wins away from the school’s second national championship.
With Lloyd now out of the running at Carolina, the search will now shift to Michigan coach Dusty May, who coincidentally enough will match wits against on Saturday night in the second semifinal here at the Final Four. Chicago Bulls coach Billy Donovan is the other top candidate that North Carolina has on its board, sources said, though Donovan will not seriously engage with the school until the end of the Bulls’ season April 12.
This breaking news story will be updated shortly.