With three seasons remaining on his original eight-year contract that he signed in the summer of 2017, Ohio State announced a three-year contract extension with men’s basketball head coach Chris Holtmann today. The agreement is pending the final Board of Trustees approval.

Holtmann, 50, was hired in 2017 after longtime head coach Thad Matta resigned. After going 70-31 in three seasons at Butler including three NCAA Tournament appearances, Holtmann has amassed a record of 107-56 (.656) during his five seasons in Columbus. His Buckeye teams have made the NCAA Tournament every season save for the COVID-19-cancelled season, and have finished in the top-five in the Big Ten in three of his five years.

Holtmann’s original contract was an eight-year, $26 million dollar agreement. At $3.2 million per year, this placed Holtmann just outside the top-25 highest paid coaches in the country based on yearly salary, behind coaches such as Northwestern’s Chris Collins ($3.26 million), USC’s Andy Enfield ($3.35 million), and Nebraska’s Fred Hoiberg ($3.5 million).

The new deal will increase his yearly salary to $3.5 million over the final six years of his contract, which also means Holtmann’s original contract will extend from eight to 11 years.

Last season the Buckeyes finished with a 20-12 record, the ninth-straight season that Holtmann has led his team to 20 or more wins. Ohio State finished with a 12-8 record in the B1G, and were assigned a 7-seed in the NCAA Tournament. After knocking off a very popular upset pick in Loyola-Chicago, the Buckeyes fell to Villanova in the second round, 71-61. Jay Wright’s Wildcats would eventually advance all the way to the Final Four before losing to Kansas.