Vitello's New Contract Puts Roadblock in Razorbacks' Hopes for Reunion

Tennessee's Vitello set to become highest paid baseball coach in the country

Tennessee coach Tony Vitello exchanges words with Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn after Arkansas' 3-2 win during their NCAA baseball game in Knoxville, Tenn. on Sunday, May 16, 2021. / Saul Young/News Sentinel via Imagn Content Services, LLC

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — There's no question Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn and Tennessee coach Tony Vitello respect each other. Vitello, who worked as Van Horn's assistant from 2014-2017, mentioned Van Horn just moments after winning his first national title in his postgame press conference.

"Coach Van Horn gave me that opportunity and also helped lead me along the way," Vitello said. "The one thing I’d like to say and I think some of them appreciate I hustled around down there. Most of them hate me, which is fine, but what they need to realize is their program definitely had a hand in what happened tonight. There’s no question about that."

However, any plans involving Vitello in a post-Dave Van Horn era for the Razorbacks just got less likely. Vitello was rewarded with a handsome new contract after winning his first national title.

According to Mike Wilson of KnoxNews, Vitello will reportedly make $3 million a year for the next 5 years, making him the highest-paid coach in college baseball. It's more than double Van Horn's reported annual salary of $1.25 million from an extension he signed in 2021.

There are other reasons for Vitello to stay put at Tennessee as well. The Volunteers are currently in the midst of a three-year, $96 million project to renovate Lindsey Nelson Stadium to increase the capacity from 5,548 to about 7,750.

The two teams did not face each other in the 2024 season, with Tennessee winning all three major titles, a share of the SEC East, the SEC Tournament and became the first No.1 overall seed to win the national title since the Miami Hurricanes in 1999 with a 6-5 win in the deciding game against Texas A&M.

It's not lost on Van Horn that his former assistant won it all before he did. Arkansas was bounced in the Fayetteville Regional for the second straight year.

"It’s bittersweet because they won it and we didn’t," Van Horn said in June. "People are happy there and people are not happy here."

Arkansas will look to prepare for the upcoming 2025 season with a series of fall scrimmages beginning in September.

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