UNM hands Lobos coach Eric Olen 5-year extension
Eric Olen and the University of New Mexico have reached an agreement to keep Olen on as the Lobos’ men’s basketball coach through the 2030-31 season.
The five-year extension replaces the original five-year deal Olen signed when he agreed to take over UNM’s program a little over a year ago. He led the Lobos to a 26-11 record in his first season with the team, earning a third-place finish in the Mountain West Conference and a semifinal berth in the National Invitation Tournament.
The new deal gives Olen a bump in pay that puts his average annual compensation at $1.45 million over the length of the contract.
It is the second-largest pay rate of any public employee in state history, second only to current UNM football coach Jason Eck. Eck signed an extension of his own earlier this year that pays him an average of $1.55 million.
“What Eric accomplished this season — building a 26-win program from the ground up, with no returning players, no returning staff — is a reflection of exceptional leadership and culture-building,” said UNM President Garnett Stokes. “Lobo basketball is one of the most visible expressions of who we are as a university, and I’m grateful that Eric and his family are committed to this community for years to come.”
Olen and UNM athletic director Ryan Berryman will address the local media in a Tuesday news conference.
The new contract includes a $2.95 million buyout if Olen takes another job before April 1, 2027. It drops to $2.25 million in Year 2, $1.22 million in the third year and $620,000 in the fourth. It zeroes out in the final year.
The perks include a $100,000 retention bonus in each of the first two years. The first of those will kick in May 31, and the second on the same date in 2027.
As is standard in contracts for men’s basketball and football, Olen will draw a base salary of $400,000 in the first year, with the bulk of his pay coming through his participation in program promotion ($425,000) and media participation ($425,000). His base remains the same all five years of the deal, but the other segments follow identical increases to $450,000 in the second year, $525,000 in the third, $550,000 in the fourth and $575,000 in the last.
He also gets a courtesy vehicle, a country club membership, a dozen tickets to every home basketball game and eight tickets to each football game.
Other incentives include potential payouts ranging from $25,000 (for winning the conference regular season or postseason title) to $150,000 for a national championship. He will make $50,000 for every win in the NCAA Tournament’s round of 64 or deeper.
Hired away from the University of California, San Diego after leading the Tritons to the 2025 NCAA Tournament, Olen inherited a Lobos program that faced unprecedented turnover. Every coach, player and staff member left UNM when then-coach Richard Pitino took the Xavier job in April 2025.
The players on Pitino’s final team who didn’t graduate entered the transfer portal. The only person with direct contact to the program to return under Olen was sports information director Steve Kirkland and a portion of the student-manager staff.
Olen relied heavily on his connections to the San Diego area, bringing three UCSD players and multiple assistants with him, as well as prized recruits Jake Hall and Uriah Tenette. Together, they built a team that meshed into a solid mix of incoming freshmen and vets cobbled together through the portal.
“This past year has been an amazing experience for me and my family,” Olen said in a statement. “It’s an honor to lead this program, and walking down the ramp on game day is something I will never take for granted. The support from this community and the passion of our fan base make the University of New Mexico a truly special place. I appreciate everyone that helped make year one so memorable, and I’m excited to build on that foundation.”
Only three players from Olen’s first season at New Mexico return: Tenette, Hall and senior Chris Howell. Howell was granted an additional year of eligibility after suffering a season-ending injury early on, and Hall was retained after spending a week in the transfer portal before deciding to recommit to Olen.
Several schools appeared to have an interest in Olen after last season. Multiple media outlets reported he had interviewed for the vacancy at Boston College while his name was attached to openings ranging from Providence to Utah State.
Nearly every Division I coaching vacancy was filled by the time the Lobos’ season ended in the NIT semifinals, the same weekend as the Final Four in Indianapolis.
“We are incredibly excited that Eric has committed to the Lobos for the long term, and he is well-deserving of this contract,” Berryman said in a release issued by the school. “Since his arrival on campus, he has worked tirelessly to enhance UNM’s reputation as a basketball power in the West, and his success this past season despite having no returning student-athletes is indicative of his leadership. We are excited about the future of Lobo Basketball under Coach’s leadership, and I look forward to seeing him, his wife, Lauren, and his daughters in The Pit — Powered by Nusenda for the foreseeable future.”
