Illinois considering another contract extension for John Groce

Illinois Fighting Illini men’s basketball coach John Groce could be in line for another contract extension when the university’s Board of Trustees meets later this week, reports Julie Wurth of the News-Gazette.

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The news comes just one year after Groce received a three-year extension from the school, and months after the team completed a relatively underwhelming season. Dealing with significant roster turnover, the Fighting Illini failed to reach the NCAA Tournament in Groce’s second year at the helm.

That doesn’t appear to be deterring the university from moving forward with another possible extension, even though Groce still has five years remaining on his contract at an annual salary of $1.6 million, plus incentives.

Wurth doesn’t provide any other details, but points out that the board’s Governance, Personnel and Ethics Committee will meet Thursday with an intriguing item on the agenda: “amend multiyear contract with head varsity men’s basketball coach.”

The committee doesn’t typically execute formal votes on agenda items, per Wurth, but this could be setting the stage for a formal vote when the full board meets on July 24 in Chicago. “We want to hold our public comments about it until then,” UI spokesperson Tom Hardy said of the report.

Groce, 42, was originally hired by Illinois in 2012 after a four-year stint with the University of Ohio. In his first year coaching the Fighting Illini, he led the team to 23 wins and an NCAA Tournament berth, but couldn’t replicate that effort in his second campaign after losing key players like Brandon Paul. His overall record in six years of coaching is 127-84.