Vanderbilt basketball extends Mark Byington after North Carolina interest

Vanderbilt basketball has signed coach Mark Byington to a contract extension, the program announced March 28. The terms of the extension are not public because Vanderbilt is a private school. Byington's previous contract terms and salary are also not known.

Byington led the Commodores to back-to-back NCAA tournaments after previously not qualifying since 2017. The 2024-25 season ended 27-9 and in the second round of the NCAA Tournament as Vanderbilt had a last-minute Tyler Tanner shot rim out. Byington is the first coach in program history to win 20 games in each of his first two seasons.

“Enduring excellence starts with the right people, and Mark Byington is integral to what we’re building for the long haul at Vanderbilt,” athletic director Candice Lee said in a release. “Basketball in Memorial Gymnasium is an important part of Vanderbilt’s story as a university. Mark understood that relationship from the beginning and won over Commodore Nation with his selfless spirit and an entertaining style of play that honors our commitment to aim higher and be bolder than ever before.

Across athletics, our new era is just getting started, and I look forward to Mark and our men’s basketball team helping to lead the way. ” North Carolina recently parted ways with coach Hubert Davis, leaving an opening in Chapel Hill. Byington was thought of as a potential candidate for that job due to his success at multiple stops as well as the fact that he played at UNC-Wilmington.