LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mick Cronin has signed a six-year contract extension as UCLA basketball coach that will keep him in Westwood through the 2027-28 season.
Athletic director Martin Jarmond announced the deal Thursday, hours before the fourth-seeded Bruins opened play in the NCAA Tournament against 13th-seeded Akron in Portland, Oregon.
Cronin has a record of 66-29 in his first three seasons at the helm. Last year, he guided the Bruins to their first Final Four appearance since 2008.
“Mick is the right leader for our program because he knows what it means to represent the four letters, he won’t settle for less than being an elite program, and he wins with integrity,” Jarmond said in a statement. “He has done a tremendous job of developing young men, and his players respect him.”
Cronin was hired in April 2019 by Jarmond’s predecessor, Dan Guerrero.
The 11th-ranked Bruins were 25-7 this season. They finished second in the Pac-12 at 15-5 and lost in the title game of the league’s tournament. UCLA led the league in scoring defense at 64.8 points per game and its 9.2 turnovers were the fewest per game.
“I am totally committed to seeing this process through with the goal of becoming national champions and one of the elite programs in college basketball,” Cronin said in a statement.
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