When pitching the Arizona Board of Regents on a proposed $37.5 million deal for Arizona men's basketball coach Tommy Lloyd, UA president Suresh Garimella spoke about how the program's achievements have elevated the university and galvanized the community, among other things.
Then he paused briefly.
"Who cares about North Carolina?" Garimella said.
Chuckles filled the conference room at Arizona Public Media's new building, where the Regents voted to unanimously approve Lloyd's new five-year contract because it was North Carolina's interest in Lloyd that helped propel negotiations that included a 31% raise for next season — and assurances of improved financial support for assistants and players.
The Regents also unanimously voted to approve a five-year, $18.5 million deal for new ASU men's basketball coach Randy Bennett, who left Saint Mary’s to take over the Sun Devils next season.
Ahead of the public votes Thursday, contracts for both coaches had also been scheduled for "legal advice" and discussion during a closed-door executive session Thursday morning.
Before Bennett's deal was approved, ASU athletic director Graham Rossini spoke of Bennett's Western ties as a Mesa product and longtime coach of a perennial West Coast Conference contender at Saint Mary's.
"We've seen coaches from the WCC have success in the Big 12. One of them is here in the room right now," Rossini said, referring to Lloyd, who was a longtime assistant at Gonzaga before taking over Arizona's program almost exactly five years earlier.
About 15 minutes later, when Lloyd sat down to address the Regents before they voted on his contract, the UA coach had a virtual team with him: Athletic director Desireé Reed-Francois, players Anthony Dell'Orso and Evan Nelson — and Garimella, who sat across the group of tables with the Regents and gave the first address.
"When we were all in Indy (for the Final Four), it was clear how powerfully Arizona basketball represents our university on the national stage, elevates our profile and brings our community together," Garimella said. "What stands out to me is the clarity of purpose and consistency in the program that Coach Lloyd has built.
"His teams play with unselfishness — not very common — toughness and purpose, and they have helped reinforce Tucson as one of the premier college basketball communities in the country."
Arizona men's basketball coach Tommy Lloyd waves to a crowd of eager fans during the Wildcats' Final Four sendoff outside McKale Center, April 1, 2026.
That's when Garimella inserted his remark about North Carolina, saying that UA is supported by "one of the most passionate fan bases in the country."
After Garimella spoke, Reed-Francois praised Lloyd, his players' 3.17 GPA, their character and the galvanizing impact the Wildcats have had.
"Men's basketball has been critical in the community," she said.
When it came his turn to speak, Lloyd spoke of his purpose similar to the way he has at recent news conferences.
"It's not just about winning basketball games," Lloyd said. "I understand what we do is a heavy lift and maybe doesn't make sense to a lot of people, and hopefully this season showed people what's possible and what it can do for the community, what it can do for the university. With eyes on the university, the program is powerful, but the purpose behind it is serving others.
"I make no bones about it. My job is to be an ambassador for the University of Arizona, for the city of Tucson and Southern Arizona and the state of Arizona. It's 100% my motivation and what we need."
Lloyd is now being paid among the most of any college basketball coaches in the country to do his job, while his new deal also includes assurances about financial support that were not disclosed in the public proposal to the Regents.
Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd walks on the court before a game against Purdue in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament March 28, 2026, in San Jose, Calif.
According to USA Today’s coaching salary database, Lloyd’s salary of $7.19 million in 2026-27 would have ranked fifth last season, behind only Kansas’ Bill Self ($8.85 million), UConn’s Dan Hurley ($8.03 million), Arkansas’ John Calipari ($7.75 million) and Michigan State’s Tom Izzo ($7.20 million).
Last April, Lloyd agreed to a five-year deal that paid him $5.5 million plus $835,000 in performance incentives in 2025-26. He will now make $7.19 million plus bonuses starting next season.
“Honestly, I've been full focus" on basketball, Lloyd said when announcing he had agreed to the deal during an April 3 news conference. "There's obviously people behind the scenes that were helping me and working with the administration."
Lloyd said it "wasn't meant to be a leverage deal," and that he appreciated administrators rallying behind what the vision for Arizona basketball could be.
The Wildcats are believed to have had a roster budget of about $10 million in 2025-26, counting about $3.5 million in school-paid revenue sharing, but the new deal could increase both school-paid funds and school-led fundraising efforts to bring in more outside NIL money for players.
Bennett, meanwhile, received his new contract after building the Gaels into one of the West’s best programs over a 25-year stint at Saint Mary's. He won 589 games and reached 12 NCAA Tournaments with the mid-major program in California’s East Bay, often challenging Gonzaga for the WCC title.
Because of proximity and the Gaels’ well-regarded style of play, Saint Mary’s was also a frequent exhibition and scrimmage opponent of Arizona’s under both Lloyd and previous UA coach Sean Miller.
Bennett took over for Hurley, whose contract was not renewed, but his formal introductory news conference was postponed because of an unspecified health issue. However, Bennett issued statements through ASU.
Saint Mary's head coach Randy Bennett tries to plead his case to one of the officials during the first half of an exhibition game against Arizona, Oct. 18, 2025, in Tucson.
“I am energized, driven, and focused on taking over Sun Devil basketball, a program I am very familiar with and grew up watching,” Bennett said. “We are in the best basketball conference in the nation and I look forward to the opportunity and am excited to meet everyone who wants to help this program reach our goals in the new landscape.”
Lloyd’s contract will pay roughly double what Bennett’s is scheduled to, and Lloyd is also contracted to receive slightly higher performance bonuses except for early-round NCAA Tournament appearances.
Lloyd also has significantly higher academic bonuses overall, but Bennett has an honors-college incentive that Lloyd does not: The new ASU coach can earn between $25,000 and $75,000, depending on the number of new players that enroll in ASU’s Barrett Honors College.
