New Indiana coach Darian DeVries will make $27 million over 6 years plus incentives
West Virginia head coach Darian Devries yells from the sidelines during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against the Colorado in the second round of the Big 12 Conference tournament, Wednesday, March 12, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. Credit: AP/Charlie Riedel
New Indiana coach Darian DeVries' six-year contract will pay him at least $27 million, according to a binding term sheet he signed in March after accepting the job.
The document was made public Thursday by the athletic department.
DeVries' annual average salary of $4.5 million would have been fourth among Big Ten coaches last season, trailing Tom Izzo of Michigan State, Matt Painter of Purdue and Brad Underwood of Illinois. Former Hoosiers coach Mike Woodson earned $4.2 million last season, according to the USA Today database that was updated last month.
It's a significant pay increase from the $2.9 million DeVries earned in his only season at West Virginia.
DeVries is scheduled to make an annual base salary of $550,000 over the next six seasons while earning an additional $3.7 million in supplemental income next season — a number that increases by $100,000 annually over the final five seasons of the deal.
Plus, DeVries will be eligible for yearly bonuses.
The provisions include $125,000 if he wins a Big Ten regular-season title, $50,000 for a conference tournament crown or if he is named Big Ten coach of the year by either the coaches or media and $25,000 for making the NCAA Tournament, with higher payouts for advancing in the tourney, up to $250,000 for each national title he adds to the school's previous five.
West Virginia head coach Darian Devries watches from the sidelines during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against the Colorado in the second round of the Big 12 Conference tournament, Wednesday, March 12, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. Credit: AP/Charlie Riedel
University officials will be on the hook for 80% of the base salary and supplemental income of the remaining total if DeVries is fired without cause.
If DeVries were to leave, his buyout would be $10 million in 2026 and would decline by $2 million per season over each of the next two years before dropping to $3 million in the fourth year of the deal. That number goes to $1 million in 2030 before hitting zero in 2031.
Indiana also agreed to cover the cost of DeVries' $6.15 million buyout at West Virginia in a “manner that will be tax-neutral” to DeVries. The Mountaineers hired Ross Hodge as coach in late March.
Hoosiers athletic director Scott Dolson also wrote that the signed document would serve as a contract until one can formally be completed.
