Adia Barnes gets another big raise in revised contract extension with Arizona

Adia Barnes is getting another big pay raise.

A month after signing an extension that included a base salary of $3.345 million over five years, the Arizona women’s basketball coach has agreed to revised terms with the UA that will pay her $5.85 million over five years.

The news of the raise comes a day after Baylor, one of the nation’s top programs, ended its head coaching search by hiring the Atlanta Dream’s Nicki Colleen. There were rumors that Baylor was interested in Barnes, who may have used that to her advantage.

No changes were made to the incentive structure of the contract, which runs through 2025-26 and is still pending approval from the Arizona Board of Regents.

“As this past season made perfectly clear, Arizona Women’s Basketball has joined the nation’s elite under Coach Barnes’ leadership and will remain there for a long time to come,” UA athletic director Dave Heeke said in a statement. “This new contract demonstrates our continued commitment to our women’s basketball program, and to Adia, who has revitalized our program and brought the excitement and energy to a whole new level. We are thrilled that she will be with us for years to come, and we have no doubt that the young women in her program will continue to proudly represent our university, athletics department and community.”

Barnes has a 89-66 record in five seasons and just led the Wildcats to their first Elite Eight, Final Four and national championship game, where they lost by a point to Stanford.

Arizona lost starters Aari McDonald and Trinity Baptiste to graduation, but has a top-20 recruiting class coming in and added three major-conference transfers—Oregon’s Taylor Chavez, Vanderbilt’s Koi Love and Alabama’s Ariyah Copeland—that should help them be a contender again in 2021-22 and beyond.

“I want to thank President Robbins, Athletics Director Dave Heeke and the senior executive staff for their commitment and support of Arizona Women’s Basketball,” Barnes said in a statement. “It means the world to me that they trust me to lead this incredible program and are invested in our success. I am honored to coach at my alma mater and represent Tucson, a city where it all began for me. This contract is a commitment to our sport, Arizona Women’s Basketball, and this University. It is my responsibility to honor that commitment with a relentless pursuit of a national championship, and I can’t wait until we pack McKale again with the best fans in the country.”