UA extends Dave Van Horn’s contract through 2031

by Talk Business & Politics staff ([email protected]) 778 views 

The University of Arkansas has signed Razorback baseball coach Dave Van Horn to a new long-term contract that should keep him Fayetteville for the next decade.

Van Horn, the 2021 Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year, has agreed to a new five-year agreement that includes five automatic one-year contract rollovers. That should extend his tenure at Arkansas through June 30, 2031.

As part of the agreement announced Thursday (July 29), Van Horn will receive annual compensation of $1.25 million, with scheduled increases to his base salary and additional incentive compensation based on the Razorbacks’ success on the field.

Van Horn has coached the Razorbacks for 19 seasons. This past season, he won his first outright SEC regular season title — a first for the UA since 1999 — and won the SEC Tournament crown for the first time in school history. The Razorbacks were ranked No. 1 throughout the season. They earned the top national seed in the NCAA Tournament, advancing to the NCAA Super Regional round where North Carolina State eliminated them.

“Dave Van Horn is Razorback Baseball,” UA Athletic Director Hunter Yurachek said in a statement. “Since returning to campus almost 20 years ago to lead the OmaHogs, he has embodied what it truly means to be a Razorback; hard work, passion, loyalty and excellence.

As Coach Van Horn and I sat down after this past season, his number one priority was to have the long-term security that ensured he was our Head Baseball Coach into the next decade. Coach Van Horn’s new contract provides him and his family with that security and provides our passionate Razorback fan base with the comfort of knowing our baseball program remains in great hands for the foreseeable future.”

Van Horn has led the Hogs to six College World Series appearances and17 NCAA Tournament berths. The Razorbacks’ success under Van Horn has made home games in Fayetteville a popular attraction.

The Hogs did something in 2019 that was rather exclusive in NCAA Division I baseball— turn a profit. The baseball program finished in the black in 2018-19, to the tune of $855,055. The program had total operational revenue of a record $6.73 million to go along with expenses of $5.87 million.