Arizona is preparing to make its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2005 when it takes the floor against Stony Brook on Monday. Before the Wildcats even play that game head coach Adia Barnes knows her future is set with the program. UA announced Thursday that it has come to an agreement with the fifth-year head coach on a contract extension that will keep her at the helm of the program through the 2025-26 season.
Barnes previously signed an extension in 2019 that would keep her on as the program's head coach through the 2023-24 season. The decision to extend Barnes comes after an impressive season for the Wildcats.
UA is currently a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament after finishing the regular season with a 15-4 record and a second-place finish in the Pac-12 behind Stanford. The Wildcats were in position to host in last year's NCAA Tournament before the event was canceled. The 2019 season ended with Arizona as the WNIT champions.
Barnes has UA on an upward trajectory, so the administration at the school wanted to make sure she will remain at her alma mater for the foreseeable future.
“We are thrilled that Adia will lead our women’s basketball program for years to come,” UA athletic director Dave Heeke said Thursday about the deal that still needs approval from the Arizona Board of Regents. “Adia has built a nationally-prominent program in a short amount of time that achieves excellence on the court, in the classroom and in the community. Her dedication to coaching and developing student-athletes is rivaled by her passion for our university, our athletics department and our Southern Arizona community. Under her outstanding leadership, Arizona Women’s Basketball has become a national brand and we cannot wait to see where Adia takes us.”
The Wildcats have progressed ahead of schedule as they have gone from one of the worst teams in the Pac-12 to one of the best in a short amount of time. Barnes said Thursday that she thought the team would eventually reach the point it is at now, but she estimated it wouldn't happen until somewhere around her seventh season in Tucson.
Arizona has collected 84 wins to 65 losses under Barnes with 24 wins coming in each of the previous two seasons. The Wildcats have been ranked inside the Associated Press top 15 for the entirety of this season and entered the year tied for a program-best mark as the No. 7-ranked team.
UA climbed as high as No. 6 this season as it jumped out to its best start in Pac-12 play that included three wins over opponents ranked inside the top 12.
While there has been tremendous success as of late under Barnes, the UA head coach said she didn't pursue a contract extension though it has been a topic of conversations with the administration for quite some time. The process of putting together the extension and agreeing to the terms only took a matter of days, she said.
"It just shows their commitment to women's basketball," Barnes said in a virtual media session Thursday to discuss the extension. "It means a lot to me. I always work hard and definitely I bleed red and blue, but they're committed women's basketball, committed to me and Dave has believed in me since he's been here.
" ... Dave has just been so supportive. He's at all my games, he's invested in women's basketball, he's provided a lot of resources for me over the last few years. So, the fact that he's committed to our program it says a lot, and it just speaks for our future."
Barnes has been a popular potential candidate for several job openings in recent years, and she said the topic of her future has come up on the recruiting trail when prospects are evaluating the Wildcats. Having another extension in place will allow the UA head coach to be clear about where she will be in the years to come.
"More stability in the program is good just for the future of the program," she said. "Last year I had a lot of questions about me leaving. Or every time some job came open I don't know how but my name was on a lot of lists. So sometimes I wouldn't even know I was on a list till a recruit would ask me.
"... People want to come here. I think we've proven that we can compete at the highest level, so people want to come to Arizona. It's a desirable place, and it was not five years ago. Now it is and I'm happy to be a part of that."
The terms of Barnes' new contract extension have not been released.
Arizona opens up the NCAA Tournament at 11 a.m. MST on Monday with its first round matchup against No. 14 seed Stony Brook with ESPN2 set to broadcast the matchup.
WATCH: Arizona coach Adia Barnes discusses her contract extension (full interview)
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