“We believe in Coach Turgeon and are excited about what the future holds for Maryland basketball,” Athletic Director Damon Evans said in a statement. “Coach is fully committed to Maryland and we are in agreement of the expectations for our program as we move forward. Coach and the staff have already been at work recruiting and building on our recent success. We all need to do our part, pulling in the same direction, pursuing a championship-level program.”
If Maryland fires Turgeon before May 1, 2022, the school would owe him $5 million, per the terms of the contract, which were obtained through an open records request. That buyout decreases to $4.5 million after May 2022 and then by $1 million per year until 2025, when the school could fire Turgeon without a buyout.
Turgeon has buyout incentives in his new deal. If his team wins the Big Ten regular season title (outright or in a tie), the buyout increases by $1 million. If Maryland wins the Big Ten tournament, the buyout increases by another $1 million.
If Maryland reaches the Sweet 16 or Elite Eight in the NCAA tournament, his buyout increases by $1 million. If he reaches the Final Four, the buyout increases to 75 percent of what the school would pay him through the end of the contract. The buyout cannot exceed 75 percent of the contract’s remaining worth.
Turgeon’s agreement also includes a contract extension incentive. If Maryland wins the Big Ten regular season title (outright or in a tie), the deal will be extended by a year. If the Terps win the conference tournament, the contract is extended by another year. If Maryland reaches the Sweet 16, Turgeon receives a one-year extension, and if his team makes it to the Elite Eight, he earns a two-year extension. (Those are noncumulative, so reaching the Elite Eight and therefore having also reached the Sweet 16 in that tournament still only triggers a two-year extension.) If Maryland makes it to the Final Four, the term of the contract is extended to six years.
The length of the deal cannot extend more than six years. So, as outlined in a hypothetical scenario in the contract, if Turgeon does not earn an extension in 2021-22 but earns an extension in 2022-23 (through, for instance, winning the Big Ten regular season title, winning the Big Ten tournament and making an Elite Eight appearance), that would be worth a four-year extension. But with three years still remaining on the deal that initially runs through 2025-26, the contract could not be extended beyond 2028-29, because that would bring the total length of the term to six years.
Turgeon can earn up to $545,000 per year in performance incentives, including $75,000 if Maryland is the outright Big Ten regular season champion, $75,000 for a Sweet 16 appearance and $250,000 for a national title.
Turgeon has led the Terrapins to five of the past six NCAA tournaments, and his team won a share of the Big Ten regular season title in 2019-20. Maryland finished eighth in the Big Ten this season, but since the school joined the conference, Turgeon’s teams have finished in the top five of the Big Ten standings on five of seven occasions.
During Turgeon’s 10-year tenure with the Terps, Maryland has made it to the Sweet 16 only once and hasn’t gone deeper in the NCAA tournament. Since joining the Big Ten before the 2014-15 season, Maryland has won three games in the Big Ten tournament, and the Terps have won five games in five NCAA tournament appearances under Turgeon. However, Turgeon’s best team, the 2019-20 squad that won a share of a conference title, didn’t have the opportunity to play in the postseason because of the coronavirus pandemic. That team was projected to be a No. 3 seed in the NCAA tournament before it was canceled.
“I want to thank Damon Evans and President [Darryll] Pines for their continued belief in me to lead the basketball program,” Turgeon said in a statement. “Maryland is a special place and my commitment to the program has never wavered. I am extremely proud of our recent accomplishments as Big Ten champions and as NCAA tournament qualifiers six of the last seven years and we are hungry for more. We are building great momentum heading into the 2021-22 season and I am excited for our future.”
