UCLA Extends Mick Cronin’s Contract Ahead of First NCAA Tournament Game

The Bruins coach led the team to their first Final Four since 2008 last season.

UCLA has yet to step on the court in the 2022 NCAA tournament, but its coach Mick Cronin has already received a contract extension.

UCLA announced the extension on Thursday, which will keep Cronin with the program through the 2027–28 season.

“Mick Cronin is one of the best coaches in the country, and this deal signifies our commitment to keeping him at UCLA and competing for national championships,” UCLA’s director of athletics Martin Jarmond said in a press release. “Mick is the right leader for our program because he knows what it means to represent the four letters, he won’t settle for less than being an elite program, and he wins with integrity. He has done a tremendous job of developing young men, and his players respect him.”

The 50-year-old has 431 career wins, which is the most by any Division I coach 50 or younger.

Cronin began coaching the Bruins in 2019 and he has since led them to three winning seasons. UCLA reached the Final Four last season for the first time since ’08 after going 22–10 in the regular season. 

The Bruins finished this season second in the Pac-12 with a 25–7 record, and they sit as a No. 4 seed in the East Region heading into this year’s NCAA tournament. Their first game is on Thursday night against No. 13 Akron at 9:50 p.m. ET.

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Madison Williams
MADISON WILLIAMS

Madison Williams is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated, where she specializes in tennis but covers a wide range of sports from a national perspective. Before joining SI in 2022, Williams worked at The Sporting News. Having graduated from Augustana College, she completed a master’s in sports media at Northwestern University. She is a dog mom and an avid reader.