No. 24 Tennessee coach Josh Heupel gets 1-year contract extension through January 2030

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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee coach Josh Heupel has a one-year contract extension taking him through January 2030 ahead of the No. 24 Volunteers' season opener.

Athletic director Danny White announced the extension signed Tuesday as a reward for Heupel posting a 37-15 record through his first four seasons.

White credited Heupel with reviving the football program, which went 3-7 in 2020 before he was hired in January 2021.

“Josh has brought Tennessee Football back to its rightful place among the nation’s elite programs, and he and his staff have fostered a positive culture within the team,” White said in a statement. “Our commitment to supporting Josh and his staff remains strong and unwavering.”

Tennessee gave Heupel a big raise to $9 million a year in January 2023, an extension through the 2028 football season that put him among the highest-paid coaches in college football after an 11-2 record in 2022. The 24th-ranked Volunteers open the season Saturday in Atlanta against Syracuse.

This extension keeps Heupel's pay the same. The big change is doubling his use of a university private plane or a charter flight from five to 10 for 30 hours of flight time per year.

Heupel has 11 wins over Top 25 teams, which ranks sixth nationally among FBS coaches in that span and fifth in Tennessee history. He led the Vols to their first College Football Playoff berth last December.

He took over during an NCAA investigation into the prior coach, Jeremy Pruitt. Heupel has a 71.2 winning percentage, which is the second-highest by a Tennessee coach in the last five decades. Only Bill Battle (39 between 1970 and 1973) and Phillip Fulmer (38 between 1993 and 1996) had more in that span.

“We quickly built a resilient, player-driven culture and have enjoyed great success on and off the field, but there is still much left to do," Heupel said.

The Vols have 16 SEC victories under Heupel since the start of 2022, the program's best three-year stretch since 18 between 2002 and 2004. With double-digit wins in two of three seasons, he joined Fulmer and Gen. Robert Neyland (five each) with multiple 10-win regular seasons.

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