Fran McCaffery, Iowa Agree to 4-Year Contract Extension Through 2027-28 Season

Charlie Neibergall/Associated Press

Part of Fran McCaffery’s preparation for the NCAA tournament included signing a four-year contract extension with Iowa that will keep him with the team through the 2027-28 campaign, per the Associated Press. 

The Hawkeyes finished the season 21-8 and 14-6 in the Big Ten, good to finish third in the conference. They were knocked out of the Big Ten tournament in the semifinals by eventual champion Illinois, which drew a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, as did Michigan. 

The Hawkeyes, one of nine Big Ten teams to make the NCAA tournament, drew a No. 2 seed, their highest since 1987. 

Despite playing in a loaded conference, the Hawkeyes managed to maintain a Top 15 ranking in the AP Top 25 poll throughout the season, topping off at No. 5 last week as they enter their fifth tournament since 2014. 

This year’s run was led by national player of the year candidate Luka Garza, who is the school’s career scoring leader. 

McCaffery, who took a 15 percent pay cut for the 2020-21 season amid the COVID-19 pandemic, has a $2.3 million base salary for the next two seasons, a figure that is set to increase in the final five years of his contract, though the amount of the increases was not announced. 

The 61-year-old has coached at Iowa since the 2010-11 campaign and is the school’s second-winningest coach of all time with a 215-151 record. That record includes seven 20-win seasons. 

Athletic director Gary Barta said the program originally was going to extend McCaffery’s contract at the end of last year, but the decision was paused because of the pandemic, per the Associated Press. 

Iowa will begin its NCAA tournament run against Grand Canyon on Saturday.