COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The South Carolina board of trustees has approved a new contract extension for men’s basketball coach Lamont Paris that will pay him more than $26 million through 2029-30.
The panel signed off on the contract Friday, a few hours before Paris and the 15th-ranked Gamecocks lost to No. 12 Auburn 86-55 in the Southeastern Conference tournament quarterfinals.
Paris, 49, will receive $3.75 million — up from $2.3 million this year — for next season with automatic salary increases of $250,000 until he’s at $5 million for the final year of the deal in 2029-30.
Paris’ buyout should he choose to leave starts at $12.5 million next season and decreases throughout the length of the deal until he would owe the school $1 million should he go during the final year.
“I’ve got a lot of pride in what we’ve done and what we’ve built,” Paris said Thursday after the Gamecocks defeated Arkansas 80-66 in the tournament’s second round. “What else was there to do but to make a good deal?”Paris’ contact brings him a hefty raise. His previous five-year deal earned him an average of $2.4 million over the length of the contract. Previous coach Frank Martin, let go in March 2022, made $3.2 million in his final season at South Carolina. .
COLUMBIA, S.C. – The South Carolina board of trustees has approved a new contract extension for men’s basketball coach Lamont Paris that will pay him more than $26 million through 2029-30[1][2][5].
Paris, 49, will receive $3.75 million – up from $2.3 million this year – for next season with automatic salary increases of $250,000 until he’s at $5 million for the final year of the deal in 2029-30[2][5]. His buyout should he choose to leave starts at $12.5 million next season and decreases throughout the length of the deal until he would owe the school $1 million should he go during the final year[2][5].
“I’ve got a lot of pride in what we’ve done and what we’ve built,” Paris said Thursday after the Gamecocks defeated Arkansas 80-66 in the SEC tournament’s second round[2]. “What else was there to do but to make a good deal?”
Paris, the 2023-24 Southeastern Conference coach of the year, has led South Carolina to 26 wins, which ties the team record for most victories in a season set in 2017 when the Gamecocks reached their only Final Four. The 15th-ranked Gamecocks will start play in the SEC Tournament against Arkansas.
South Carolina went 11-21 in Paris’ debut season a year ago and was picked by the media to finish last in the SEC this past October. The Gamecocks are now poised for the program’s first NCAA bid since 2017.
“This was a no-brainer, at least on my part,” Paris said[2]. “Hopefully, we can continue to grow for a long time.”
The deal keeps Paris off the coaching carousel as several high-profile jobs open up across college basketball[4]. Paris, an Ohio native, was initially tied to the Ohio State opening following the mid-season firing of Chris Holtmann.
South Carolina athletic director Ray Tanner had said two years ago that Paris was the right coach to lead the basketball program “and he has proven that to be true.”