AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The University of Texas System Board of Regents approved Longhorns basketball coach Sean Miller’s six-year, $32 million guaranteed contract on Thursday, as the school tries to boost a program that struggled in its first year in the Southeastern Conference.
Texas will pay Miller about double that of his predecessor Rodney Terry. Terry still had three years left on a five-year contract that paid him about $3 million per year when he was dismissed in March.
Miller’s deal starts at $4.8 million for the 2025-26 season and increases by $200,000 every year through the 2030-31 season. He also got a one-time $250,000 relocation payment, and can earn up to $850,000 in bonuses every season depending on conference championships, personal awards and how far Texas advances in the NCAA Tournament.
Texas hired Miller from Xavier after the Musketeers beat Texas in the NCAA Tournament in a First Four matchup just a few days earlier.
The 56-year-old Miller had two stints at Xavier and also coached at Arizona. He coached the Musketeers from 2004-09 before leaving for Arizona. He then returned to Xavier in 2022 after he was fired at Arizona.
Miller’s teams have made the NCAA Tournament 13 times with four trips to the Elite Eight. He is 487-196 overall in 20 seasons. He now inherits a Texas program looking to find its footing in the SEC, college basketball’s dominant league this season. Texas finished 14th in the 16-team conference and barely scraped its way into the NCAA Tournament before its early exit.
Terry led Texas to the Elite Eight as interim coach in 2023, but pressure mounted as he struggled to maintain that success. Texas made quick exits from the tournament the past two seasons, and was just 6-12 in league play in its first season in the SEC.
Miller faces a significant rebuild of the Texas roster.
Tre Johnson, the SEC freshman of the year and the Longhorns’ scoring leader last season, declared for the NBA draft and eight other players either finished their college eligibility or transferred.
Texas has signed transfers Simeon Wilcher from St. John’s, Lassina Traore and Dailyn Swain from Xavier, Matas Vokietaitis from Florida Atlantic and Camden Heide from Purdue.
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