Vanderbilt football coach Clark Lea signs contract extension ahead of SEC Media Days
Vanderbilt football coach Clark Lea has agreed to a contract extension, the program announced in a news release Monday.
The three-year extension will take Lea through 2029, a source told The Tennessean, confirming a report from ESPN. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Lea earned just over $3 million in 2021, according to the most recent tax records available to The Tennessean. Because Vanderbilt is a private school, the exact terms of Lea's original contract and his extension are not subject to open records laws.
Lea is entering his third season with the Commodores. After going 2-10 in 2021, he improved to 5-7 in 2022. Vanderbilt's win at Kentucky in November was its first win against an SEC opponent since 2019 and first road victory over a Power Five school since 2018. The Commodores also defeated Florida for the first time since 2013.
“Vanderbilt is home, it is such an honor for me to lead our football program,” Lea said in the release. “ ... Like everyone who is a part of our team, I will work to earn it every day, and recognize the great responsibility I have with the incredible opportunity and support I’ve been given. I also want to thank the members of our program, both student-athletes and staff. Their hard work and sacrifice is what allows for progress in our quest to build a program that makes all of Vanderbilt and Nashville proud.”
Athletic director Candice Lee, whose contract recently was extended through 2028, has also given contract extensions to baseball coach Tim Corbin and men's basketball coach Jerry Stackhouse in the past two years.
“I’m thrilled with our football program’s development on and off of the field under Clark Lea’s leadership,” Lee said in a statement. “He is relentless in his commitment to build a foundation that yields sustainable success. He approaches each day with the pride of an alumnus who personally understands the opportunity that lies before us, and the determination of a coach and leader who has the vision to fulfill it. Coach Lea shares our desire to be great at everything we do. I’m excited to see what comes next for this program and gratified Coach Lea will continue leading the way.”
Lea is set to speak Tuesday at 9 a.m. CT on the second day of SEC Media Days 2023 from the Grand Hyatt hotel in Nashville.
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This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Vanderbilt football coach Clark Lea extended ahead of SEC Media Days
