Kansas Jayhawks' Schneider gets 4-year contract extension

After the best season of his tenure at Kansas, the Jayhawk head coach was given a new contract by Kansas Athletic Director Travis Goff.

One of the biggest questions surrounding the Kansas Jayhawks Women's basketball program before this season had to do with their head coach: Could Coach Brandon Schneider do enough in the final season of his contract to warrant a new one for next season?

The answer was a resounding yes, with the team ending the season with a 20-8 overall record, including 11-7 in the Big 12, and Schneider being recognized as the Big 12 Coach of the Year by his peers. They are the #5 seed in the Big 12 Tournament that starts Thursday, and are considered a lock to be selected for the NCAA Tournament on Sunday evening.

And now, the Kansas coach inked a new four-year contract on Wednesday that will keep him in Lawrence through the 2025-26 season. Details of that contract include a base salary of $400,000 per year, with an additional $140,000 per year for other non-coaching obligations. Bonus opportunities include $50,000 for each year that the Jayhawks are selected for the NCAA Tournament.

Both Schneider and Kansas Athletic Director Travis Goff addressed the media on Wednesday. Here are some takeaways from their joint press conference:

The contract length is perfect

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Like many people on the internet, I came into the year thinking that Schneider was coaching for his job. Coming into the year, his record at Kansas was 61-115, with his best season coming in 2019-2020 when the Jayhawks finished 15-14 and was expected to qualify for the WNIT before the postseason was canceled. But Kansas had yet to win more than 4 Big 12 games in a season under Schneider, and the team took a huge step backwards last season.

But with the huge improvement from the team and the conference coaches tabbing him as the Big 12 Coach of the Year, there were really two options for Schneider's contract situation: Extend him for (at least) four years, or let him walk and start a coaching search after the tournament.

It's clear from this season and the way this team has coalesced around him that Schneider is building something that has a chance to compete at the top of the conference. The only legitimate gripe that people may have is the amount of time that it took to build the program to this point. But no one should be okay with throwing away the progress that this program has made just because you think it shouldn't have taken this long.

Momentum has been building for years

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If you look at the record of the Jayhawks under Schneider, it's easy to see the steady improvement that the program has enjoyed. With the exception of last year, each of his teams has won more games than the prior one.

During Big 12 Media Days, the message was sent that last season was due to opt-outs and players have to play out of position, but there were legitimate questions about how much of that was coach-speak and how far players could develop in a single offseason. As mentioned above, the significant jump this season leads me to both believe the explanations given and wish that we could have seen a program build off the potential WNIT season in 1999-2000.

Instead, we have a clear pattern of a program that is improving from season to season. The progress has been slow but hasn't reversed.

Support for the program is at an unprecedented level.

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When asked about the steps that led to this contract extension, Goff laid out the importance of getting to familiarize himself with the program upon first arriving and seeing the growth first hand. When asked about how to evaluate the next steps in building the program, he answered with the following:

"I think the great observation and awareness around taking next steps, arguably maybe the most important aspect of that is the recognition that it is never a head coach or a staff's responsibility alone or in a vacuum to take that next step. It really does require an institutional commitment, a comprehensive administrative commitment ... so I think this gives us a chance to really add another layer to that. What does it mean to be fully committed to women's basketball at the University of Kansas?"

He went on to talk about the importance of supporting the efforts of the coaching staff in roster management, which is a very different environment from even just a couple years ago. He stated that he sees this contract as a way to support efforts in recruiting especially.

Ultimately, Kansas fans that are wondering what to think about this program should be encouraged by the news.

In his statement included in the press release announcing the new contract, Schneider acknowledged that "it has been a process getting to the point where we are, but building things the right way doesn’t always happen as quickly as you would like. We tried to stay the course and stay true to the values and pillars of our program, knowing that one day we would build something that could be very sustainable."

With this new contract and the additional support from the athletic department, that process can continue. And hopefully it won't be long before fans see this program reach that next level.