Tennessee boosted its assistant salary pool commitment as it pumps resources into its national championship baseball program.
UT allocated approximately $1.5 million to the assistant coaches and support staff on coach Tony Vitello’s staff.
The salary pool was central in discussions between UT and Vitello during negotiations for his latest contract. That contract — signed in August — made Vitello the highest-paid coach in college baseball at $3 million annually through the 2029 season. The discussions also addressed the future of the program in all areas including the staff and stadium, which led to an all-in commitment that Vitello said is unmatched in college baseball.
“Our administration is setting the tone for a lot of people across the country,” Vitello told Knox News.
Tennessee committed nearly $1.5 million to Tony Vitello’s staff salary pool
Vitello has made increasing the staff salary pool a focus each time he has received a contract extension. That was the case again in his latest contract with an amount reflecting the value of staff, including two longstanding assistants in Josh Elander and Frank Anderson as well as bringing back Ross Kivett as the third assistant.
“It is great to see them rewarded,” said Vitello, who has a 295-112 record at UT.
Vitello said every member of the staff — assistants and support staff — received a raise this offseason with the new salary pool.
It is a notable increase from the minimum salary pool of $900,000 annually that was included in Vitello’s July 2021 contract extension. That contract indicated Vitello would be responsible for allocating funds from the pool with athletics director Danny White’s approval. Tennessee’s pre-2021 salary pool for assistant coaches and support staff was approximately $500,000.
That figure has effectively tripled to the latest figure.
No specific language about the salary pool was outlined since Vitello’s latest contract, but it was agreed upon as UT and Vitello negotiated in recent months. UT and Vitello originally agreed to a contract in May that would pay him $1.8 million annually, according to a copy of the contract obtained by Knox News. That contract served as a placeholder with the intent of landing on the latest contract, which followed Tennessee winning the College World Series in June. It also did not include language regarding salary pool.
Through Vitello’s entire seven-season tenure, Elander has been the hitting coach and Anderson has been the pitching coach. Both have had opportunities to leave for other jobs but have stuck with Tennessee. Kivett returned to UT, where he was the volunteer assistant from 2017-21, after three seasons at Houston.
“We are in the trenches with people we want to be in the trenches with,” Vitello said.
Rewarding Vols support staff was a priority for Tony Vitello
Vitello preached that rebuilding the program was going to be a group effort at the start of his tenure. The support staff is an integral part of that process and Vitello sought to get the staff raises across the board for their work in establishing the Vols as a premier program.
“Those people have been the catalyst for players improving and fans seeing the improvement,” Vitello said. “If that is who is helping the program make the climb then those are the people that deserve to get rewarded.”
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UT’s support staff includes director of performance Quentin Eberhardt, director of recruiting operations Luke Bonfield, video coordinator Sean McCann, director of analytics Zach Stovall and assistant director of operations Adam Low.
That group has been integral in Tennessee reaching the College World Series in three of the past four seasons and sweeping the SEC titles in two of the past three seasons.
The increased pool also allowed Vitello to add to the support staff. He brought back former student assistant and shortstop Ricky Martinez as the director of player development. He hired Josh Reynolds from Cincinnati into a hybrid operations and pitching coach role.
The hires of Kivett, Martinez and Reynolds have not been announced by UT. All three are listed on the UT website.
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Lindsey Nelson Stadium project remains a focal point
Vitello has stressed stadium improvements in tandem with his desire to increase assistant coach pay throughout his time at UT.
Lindsey Nelson Stadium is in the midst of a multiyear renovation that started with an approved budget of $95.8 million. The ongoing work is rounding out the profile of the program.
The coach is the highest-paid coach in the sport. The salary pool for the staff is tone-setting. The stadium is the final piece.
“We are in the midst of that right now,” Vitello said. “It is gratifying to see that go down.”
The renovations will bring the stadium capacity to approximately 7,600 fans, an increase of almost 3,000. It addresses seating, premium-seating options, player development areas, new gates, wider concourses and concession stands. It is expected to be completed prior to the 2026 season.
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Vitello has focused on the holistic view of the program, including the stadium, since he was hired. He explained that sustained success in the SEC requires being at or near the top in categories ranging from NIL to coaching.
“We want to win in every single category we can possibly win,” Vitello said.
From Vitello’s viewpoint, Tennessee is doing that — from fan support to assistant coach pay to the facility.
Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @ByMikeWilson. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it
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Publish date : 2024-09-17 13:00:00
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