Washington has rewarded coach Mike Hopkins for getting the Huskies back to the NCAA Tournament by giving him a contract extension worth $17.5 million through the 2025 season.
The ninth-seeded Huskies open the NCAAs on Friday against No. 8 seed Utah State. It’s Washington’s first appearance in the tournament since 2011.
Hopkins is 47-21 in his two seasons at Washington and has turned around a program that won nine games the year before he arrived. He’s twice been named the Pac-12 coach of the year and the Huskies ran away with the Pac-12 regular-season title this year.
Hopkins will make $2.5 million beginning with the 2019-20 season and $2.8 million in 2020-21. His contract will increase by $100,000 per season through the remainder of the deal, topping out at $3.2 million for the 2024-25 season.
If Washington wins a Pac-12 championship or qualifies for the NCAA Tournament before the end of the 2022 season, the contract would be extended through the 2025-26 season.
Hopkins would owe $6 million if he leaves Washington before the end of the 2021 season. The buyout drops to $3 million through the end of the 2023 season and $1 million through the end of 2024.