Villanova Hires Kevin Willard: A Look at His Contract Saga

New Villanova head coach Kevin Willard’s contract saga became one of the biggest stories of the NCAA Men’s Basketball hiring cycle as he appeared on the verge of a new deal with Maryland — one that would’ve ranked him among the top ten highest paid coaches in the sport — before falling silent, backing out and then giving a series of memorable answers to the media about his ongoing negotiations.

The Wildcats officially signed Willard to a contract on Sunday, March 30 and, while no financial details of his deal are publicly known, it’s time to take a look back at how his departure for the Main Line began.

On Sunday, March 16, CBS Sports college basketball insider Jon Rothstein reported that Maryland offered Willard a lucrative deal that included increased funds to his program through revenue sharing and NIL in order to help the Terrapins become a powerhouse in this brave new world of college athletics. Reports on Willard’s contract negotiations petered out after that, however, and his next appearance with the media came on Thursday, March 20.

Naturally, reporters wanted to know about the status of his discussions with Maryland. How did Willard respond? Blasting the Terrapins’ administration for their lack of funding basketball… and letting it slip that Maryland athletic director Damon Evans planned to leave for SMU, making it difficult to work out any sort of deal with him.

Kevin Willard Opens the Door

That reignited the potential for Willard to sign with Villanova, but as Maryland won their first two games in the NCAA Tournament, nothing more than rumors materialized. Other Wildcats’ candidates like Richard Pitino came off the board during the interim, causing plenty of stress for Villanova fans not wanting to see their program left in the dust in pursuit of a mercurial head coach like Willard.

Given that the Wildcats never so much as offered Pitino a contract, it became clear that they were all in on Willard. His next major development came on Tuesday, March 25, when he missed a scheduled radio appearance with a station covering the Terrapins… then popped on later in the day, blaming the jilt on sleeping in — Maryland’s Sweet Sixteen matchup took place in California, so he was on Pacific Time — and appeared to reaffirm his commitment to Maryland. Nevertheless, saying “as of right now, I’m staying” didn’t instill much confidence amongst Terrapins fans.

The following day, Willard dodged press conference inquiries about his future in masterful fashion, then reports began to trickle out that Maryland was kicking off a head coaching search of their own to guard against his leaving town. The Terrapins lost their Sweet Sixteen matchup against No. 1 seed Florida on the night of Thursday, March 27, and Willard and Villanova began to officially hash out their deal soon thereafter.

While it made for great entertainment, Kevin Willard’s unceremonious exit could give Wildcats’ fans pause, especially because he left Seton Hall in a similar fashion following the 2022 season