John Beilein wanted it done. Michgian athletic director Warde Manuel did, too.
Now it’s official: Beilein will finish his career as the head coach of the Michigan basketball team.
The Wolverines announced Wednesday morning that they had reached an agreement with Beilein for a five-year contract extension that will take him through the 2022-23 season.
The rollover deal will effectively keep Beilein at Michigan until he decides to retire, as it “automatically extends one additional year and repeats each year” until either the athletic department or Beilein decides not to renew the contract.
"I am thrilled to ensure John's leadership of our basketball program today and into the future," Manuel said in a press release announcing the extension. "I am very pleased with our shared dialog throughout the process, and I am extremely happy that one of the game's great coaches is representing the University of Michigan."
"I am grateful for the opportunity the University of Michigan has given to me over the past 11 years," Beilein said. "Kathleen and I love Ann Arbor, our University, our fans and the state of Michigan. We will continue to work very hard in the future to have our basketball team reflect the greatness of this University. I thank Mark Schlissel and Warde Manuel for their faith and commitment to our coaching staff and basketball program. The future of men's basketball is bright and I am excited to be a part of it."
Beilein has already cemented his reputation as one of the — if not the — most accomplished coaches in school history. He has the most all-time wins (248), and has made the NCAA tournament eight times in 11 seasons. Under Beilein, Michigan has four Sweet 16 appearances, three Elite Eight appearances and has made the national title game twice — including this past season. Beilein has also won back-to-back Big Ten tournament titles, and has won the regular season title twice, most recently in 2014.
Talk of a lifetime extension began in April, after the season ended. There was a blip, though, when Beilein and the Detroit Pistons briefly discussed Detroit’s open head coaching job in late May and early June.
Beilein met with Pistons owner Tom Gores in California, before interviewing for the job in Detroit. He announced his decision to remain at Michigan in a tweet June 6; later, he said that he had never been offered the Pistons job, and that his flirtation with the NBA was over.
“I think that I ran that race, and you can’t run that race too many times,” Beilein said June 27. “... This decade of Michigan basketball has been pretty good. I want to finish this decade and beyond, and just having this really good program that is always in the hunt for Big Ten championships.”
“This is new territory for just about everybody in their life when you get to this point,” Beilein, who is 65 years old, said. “But I feel good. … I’m working out hard. I’m doing squats and everything. I feel good so I don’t know where it’ll all end.
“... When the day comes, I’ll know when it comes, and there won’t be any big deal. It’ll be like, coach resigned today. And I know when it’ll be the right time. But it’s not now.”
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