Arizona HC Tommy Lloyd squashes North Carolina rumors with lucrative contract extension

The North Carolina Tar Heels will have to keep searching for their next head coach to replace Hubert Davis after Arizona HC Tommy Lloyd's decision on Friday. The 51-year-old, who appeared to be the front-runner for the North Carolina job, put an end to those rumors on Friday by signing a five-year contract extension with the Wildcats that makes him one of the five highest paid coaches in college basketball, per ESPN's Pete Thamel and Jeff Borzello. The deal with officially start in 2026-27 at nearly $7.2M with an average of $7.5M over the life of the deal. Furthermore, there are significant bonuses included and additional commitment to staff salary pool. The Tar Heels were rumored to be in the works of offering Lloyd one of the richest contracts in the sport, but Friday's decision eliminates any doubt for one of the sport's top coaches. While Lloyd only fueled the speculation following Arizona's Elite Eight win over Purdue when he said, "Arizona is going to have another good coach after me," he put an end to all the noise with his new deal ahead of Saturday's Final Four clash with fellow one-seed Michigan (8:49 p.m. ET, TBS, truTV, HBO Max). "I'm happy to announce I'm staying at Arizona," Lloyd told reporters during his Friday press conference, per CBS Sports' Matt Norlander. "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." Lloyd has won more games (148) through his first five seasons than any coach in the history of the sport and has led Arizona to its first Final Four in 25 years. However, his success does not stop there. Since he arrived in Tucson in 2021, Lloyd has guided the Wildcats to three regular-season conference championships and four Sweet 16 appearances in his five seasons, highlighted by the current Final Four run.  As someone who spent 20 seasons serving as an assistant under Gonzaga HC Mark Few, Lloyd is no stranger to consistent success and how to put a talented roster together. From freshmen Brayden Burries (16.1 PPG) and Koa Peat (14.1 PPG) to senior Jaden Bradley (13.3 PPG), the Wildcats get the bulk of their offense from players at different stages of their collegiate careers. In addition, Arizona is loaded with international talent as well including Germany's Ivan Kharchenkov (10.5 PPG) and Lithuania's Motiejus Krivas (10.4 PPG), who also average north of 10 points per game. For North Carolina, its coaching search will continue and likely shift to Michigan HC Dusty May and Chicago Bulls HC Billy Donovan, both of whom have been top candidates for the position. Regardless of who lands the Tar Heels job, they struck out on Lloyd. He has quickly proven to be one of the best coaches in the nation and an elite recruiter. Arizona made the smart move here by keeping him around, a decision that should lead to even more success for years to come. Colby Colwell is a freelance contributor with a bachelor’s in Computer & Information Technology and a minor in Psychology from Western Kentucky University. With a deep passion for sports, especially NASCAR, he offers his substantial knowledge along with his adept writing skills. When he’s not writing, Colby enjoys traveling, cooking, and spending time with his family Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!