Tennessee’s Matt Kredich Receives a Raise, Contract Extension After Historic Season

Tennessee head swimming & diving coach Matt Kredich has received another contract extension and raise, marking the third consecutive offseason in which the Volunteers have extended his contract.

The latest update is scheduled to keep Kredich with the Volunteers through the 2027-2028 season, which would be the senior season of the most-recently recruited high school class of 2024.

That extends his deal by one season from the extension he signed last year.

The new agreement also gives him a bump in base pay for the five remaining seasons from $250,000 annually to $260,000 annually, representing a 4% increase.

Kredich’s original agreement, and its 2021 extension, saw him top out at $217,000 per year. Last year’s update raised that to $250,000.

That increase in base pay also increases the bonuses that are available to Kredich. While most NCAA coaching contracts include absolute value bonuses, Kredich’s most recent new contract, from June 2019, affixes most

bonuses as a percentage of base pay – meaning that those increase with his salary without having to update that section of the agreement specifically.

Bonus Structure:

In the 2022-2023 season, the Volunteer men finished 7th and the women finished 8th. While the Tennessee women have been a consistent top 10 program throughout Kredich’s tenure, the men had a breakthrough season in 2023. Led by SEC Swimmer of the Year Jordan Crooks, that matched the team’s best NCAA Championship finish since Kredich took over the men’s program in 2012. That included an NCAA title from Crooks in the 50 free.

“It hasn’t taken long for me to see and understand the impact Matt has made on our swimming & diving program, and the results speak for themselves,” Director of Athletics Danny White said. White is in his second season leading the athletics program. “To be the first coach in Tennessee history to lead us to top 10 national finishes for both the men and women in the same year is impressive. Matt and his staff continue to recruit and develop world-class talent at Tennessee, and we look forward to seeing the program continue climbing under his leadership.”

Bio courtesy: Tennessee Athletics

Throughout Kredich’s tenure at Tennessee, the four-time SEC Coach of the Year guided the Lady Vols to a pair of SEC Championship titles, including the team’s first-ever championship in 2020 followed by a second title in 2022. During the men’s 2022 SEC Championships, he led the Volunteers to a second-place finish, which marked their highest finish since 2001.

Since 2005-06, Kredich has guided Tennessee student-athletes to a combined 82 SEC and nine NCAA titles. The two programs have achieved a comprehensive total of 684 All-American certificates under his guidance, while four different Vols and Lady Vols have garnered five SEC Swimmer of the Year honors with his coaching. A Tennessee swimmer has won the conference’s top recognition in four of the last five seasons.

“I’m so grateful for the confidence that Dr. White and our leadership have placed in me and our staff to guide this program,” Kredich said. “The opportunity to coach these amazing student athletes and to work with such an elite staff is a tremendous honor and privilege. We are all driven and excited to give our all for Tennessee in the pursuit of excellence and achievement at the highest levels of swimming and diving.”

Over the last seven seasons, the Lady Vols have finished fourth or better in the SEC every season, while the Vols have placed inside the top three four times. At the NCAA Championships, the women currently own a streak of five straight top-10 finishes and have achieved the feat 10 times with Kredich at the helm compared to placing inside the top 10 just three times before his arrival. The Vols have posted top-15 finishes at six NCAA meets under Kredich.

Bringing in some of the best talent in the world, Kredich has coached 13 Olympians who competed at Tennessee, including two medalists, while several more are set to join the program this upcoming season as freshmen or transfers. In addition, he and his staff have trained numerous athletes who qualified for the Olympics after their collegiate careers.

Tennessee student-athletes have excelled in the classroom with Kredich at the helm. Since 2010, the Lady Vols boast 72 first-team Scholar All-Americans and 104 total honorees. As a program, the women have earned CSCAA Scholar All-American Team recognition for 12 consecutive seasons. On the men’s side, a total of 61 Vols received Scholar All-American status, with 33 recognized on the first team, since 2012-13. The program has been named to the Scholar All-American Team list during 17 of the 18 semesters under Kredich.

During the 2022-23 academic year, the Vols and Lady Vols combined for a program-record six College Sports Communicators Academic All-American selections, bringing the total under Kredich’s direction to 13, and Tennessee’s 52 SEC Academic Honor Roll recipients and 29 Lady Vols honorees led all SEC swimming & diving programs.

With the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign, Kredich finished his 18th season on Rocky Top and 11th as head of the men’s and women’s programs.