Clemson Tigers Basketball Boss Eager to Complete Contract Extension

Clemson Tigers men’s basketball coach Brad Brownell commented on reports that he was in line for a new contract with the program.

Matt Postins | Mar 20, 2025

Mar 19, 2025; Providence, RI, USA; Clemson Tigers head coach Brad Brownell speaks to the media during a press conference at Amica Mutual Pavilion. / Eric Canha-Imagn Images

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Clemson Tigers

The Clemson Tigers men’s basketball team are preparing for Thursday’s NCAA Tournament opener against McNeese State.

Tip-off is set for 3:15 p.m. eastern on TruTV.

Normally, contract discussions during March Madness can be a distraction. But for Tigers coach Brad Brownell, he was happy to discuss what appears to be a long-term extension.

CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein was among those reporting on Wednesday that the Tigers and Brownell were close on a new six-year contract. This came the same day that West Virginia coach Darian DeVries took the job at Indiana.

Brownell, an Indiana native, was rumored to be on the Hoosiers’ short list. Turns out, Brownell is quite happy with Clemson.

He confirmed to reporters on Wednesday during his pre-game press conference that he and athletic director Graham Neff were in the “final stages” of negotiation on the deal. Turns out those discussions started at the end of the regular season and says those conversations have heated up recently.

Brownell, who has been with Clemson for 15 seasons, was effusive in his praise of the program, university and community.

“I'm extremely excited about it, happy,” he said. “Clemson has been a very special place for me and my family for 15 years and just have thoroughly enjoyed building the program. Love what Clemson stands for as a university and proud to be a part of it, certainly sent my daughters there, so we're all in as Dabo (football coach Swinney) likes to say, and excited about where my program is. I think we've done an unbelievable job from facility improvements all the way to success initiatives on the floor, off the floor, and excited to try to continue this level of success.”

The Tigers (27-6) finished in a tie for second with Lousville in the ACC this season and scored one of the biggest wins of the season by any team, defeating Duke on its home floor in February. Clemson lost in the ACC semifinals to the Cardinals. The Tigers dropped to No. 12 in the final AP Top 25 and were installed as a No. 5 seed in the Midwest Region.

Brownell has only taken Clemson to the NCAA Tournament five times, but three of those appearances have come in the last five seasons. In last year’s tournament, he and the Tigers wen to the Elite Eight for the first time since 1980.

Brownell has 459 career wins, 292 of which have come at Clemson.

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