Tommy Lloyd agrees to new 5-year deal with Arizona - ESPN

INDIANAPOLIS — Coach Tommy Lloyd has agreed to a new deal with Arizona, he announced Friday.

«I'm staying at Arizona,» he said at a Friday news conference.

After days of ambiguous statements about his future when being asked about the North Carolina job opening, Lloyd agreed to a new five-year deal with the school.

«Arizona basketball, you guys know what it means to me, and when I say it's a special place, that always comes from the bottom of my heart,» Lloyd said.

In a reference to rumored phone calls from Michael Jordan to Lloyd about the Carolina job — which Lloyd said never happened — the 51-year-old expressed his pride in staying in Tucson.

«I made a decision that my Michael Jordan is Steve Kerr, and I'm proud to be an Arizona Wildcat,» he said.

Per ESPN sources, Arizona's new deal with Lloyd will make him one of the five highest-paid coaches in college basketball, as he'll start in 2026-27 at nearly $7.2 million and will average $7.5 million over the life of the deal.

The deal also includes significant bonuses and additional commitment to staff salary pool. The buyout is expected to remain significant both ways, as the deal is fully guaranteed, and the buyout to leave for another job, which was $9 million under the old deal, is expected to remain high.

«To me it's a holistic approach,» Lloyd said. «There's not one thing anymore. Arizona basketball needs to become a locomotive where everything surrounding it is pushing it forward.»

Lloyd expressed his appreciation of athletic director Desiree Reed-Francois and president Suresh Garimella on their work agreeing to the deal and projecting the future for Arizona basketball.

«Tommy Lloyd is the best coach in college basketball, and we have a strong conviction in the