Arizona has agreed to pay Becky Burke $675,000 as the Wildcats’ new women’s basketball coach next season, according to a term sheet of her proposed five-year contract that the school released Saturday.
The school-paid compensation includes a $325,000 base salary plus $350,000 for “additional duties.” Burke will receive a $25,000 signing bonus and is contracted to receive $25,000 annual salary escalators through 2029-30, when she is scheduled to be paid $750,000.
Becky Burke, new coach of Arizona women’s basketball, talks during a press conference at McKale Center on April 11, 2025.
The deal offers Burke more than double what she received at Buffalo, which paid her $275,014 in total school-paid compensation in 2024-25, according to the Buffalo News. Arizona has agreed to pay Buffalo the $300,000 buyout for leaving between April 5 this year and April 6, 2026.
The contract effectively saves Arizona $625,000 over the $1.3 million that Adia Barnes was scheduled to earn in 2025-26 before she left to become SMU’s head coach. Arizona also is contracted to receive an offsetting buyout of $300,000 from Barnes or a third party for leaving between July 2, 2024, and July 1, 2025.
Burke’s contract is expected to be formally voted on by the Arizona Board of Regents during its June 12-13 meeting at the University of Arizona.
Other conditions of Burke’s proposed agreement include a $100,000 retention bonus if she is still employed and in “good standing with the university” as of April 1, 2028, and a maximum salary pool of $900,000 to offer her assistant coaches.
In addition, Burke can also earn up to $140,000 annually in academic and performance bonuses that include $45,000 if her team posts a cumulative 3.69 grade-point average and between $10,000 and $50,000 from NCAA Tournament play, depending on finish.
Under the five-year deal Barnes signed after leading the Wildcats to the 2021 national championship game, Barnes was eligible to earn up to $305,000 annually in performance and academic bonuses.
However, Barnes did not earn any performance incentives in 2024-25 on top of her $1.25 million salary, with the Wildcats finishing 19-14 and failing to reach the NCAA Tournament.
Barnes was paid a $1 million base salary in 2021-22, then $1.1 million in 2022-23, $1.2 million in 2023-24 and $1.25 in 2024-25, with an additional $50,000 bump scheduled for next season had she returned.
Barnes’ compensation included a combined total for salary and additional duties, while it is separated for Burke. UA men’s basketball coach Tommy Lloyd receives a separate $700,000 for additional duties annually on top of what was a $4.15 million base salary this season.
Lloyd also receives $200,000 each from Nike and Arizona Sports Enterprises (radio), but agreements for Barnes and Burke have not had similar deals noted.
