PHILADELPHIA — Kevin Willard publicly campaigned — pleaded, really — during Maryland’s run to the Sweet 16 for more from the university and athletic department for his Big Ten program.
More of everything — “fundamental changes,” he called them — that really came down to more money, so much more, being funneled into basketball.
Willard wanted Maryland to make clear its plan for revenue sharing with athletes and questioned how the Terrapins could ever be a “top tier” program as the race in college sports to outspend for players and all the adjacent bells and whistles nearly rivals professional levels.
Willard should have all the elements he needs to compete for a national championship, only now at Villanova.
His messy breakup with Maryland was completed Sunday when the 49-year-old coach was hired by a Villanova program that suffered through a March malaise over the last three seasons under the fired Kyle Neptune.
Willard had been linked to the Villanova job throughout the NCAA Tournament, where the Terps earned a No. 4 seed and reached the Sweet 16 before losing to Florida. Maryland went 27-9 this season and 14-6 in the Big Ten Conference.
“Coach Willard quickly stood out among an impressive pool of candidates during a comprehensive national search,” Villanova’s president, the Rev. Peter M. Donohue, said in a statement. “He has the vision and experience to guide Villanova Basketball in the changing world of college athletics. “
Willard expressed concerns with the direction of Maryland’s program on the eve of the Terrapins’ opening game in the NCAA Tournament. He had not signed an extension before the tournament, a matter complicated when Maryland athletic director Damon Evans bolted for the same job at SMU.
“My biggest concerns in life right now: I don’t know who my boss is going to be,” Willard said last week. “The guy that brought me here who I really like and am appreciative of him bringing me to College Park is not here anymore, and I don’t know who we’re going to hire. And in today’s day and age, that worries me a little bit. I’m just being honest.”
Willard said Evans gave him a “term sheet” last Sunday, but he didn’t sign it because his focus was on the team.
“We took a very proactive and aggressive approach to retain Coach Willard, offering a significant contract extension and salary increase, new staff, and one of the highest revenue-share budgets in the B1G Conference,” Maryland president Darryll J. Pines and interim athletics director Colleen Sorem said in a statement. “We had long and thoughtful conversations about the program and shared the same vision for Maryland Basketball. In the end, he made the choice that he felt was best for him and his family. On behalf of all of Terrapin Nation, we thank Coach Willard and his family for their service and wish them well.”
The school said a national search has begun for a new coach.
“We are working with urgency and thoroughness to find the next leader of our program, and we are confident that we will find a coach who will continue to build and grow the legacy of success of Maryland Basketball,” the statement said.
At Villanova, where the Big East school competes in the Football Championship Subdivision, the basketball teams are the school’s top priorities among athletics programs.
Willard is one of the first big-name coaches to return to the Big East after years of defections — everyone from Buzz Williams to Sean Miller to Chris Mack to even Willard himself when he left Seton Hall for Maryland. But as Villanova became a Final Four power and Connecticut won back-to-back titles in 2023 and ‘24, the basketball conference has become attractive.
Just look at the job Rick Pitino did in his first season back in the Big East at St. John’s, leading the Red Storm to a No. 2 seed in the tournament.
And money helps. A lot.
A court settlement that would require colleges — for the first time — to pay athletes billions for their play is set for approval next week. Many schools have said that most of the up to $20.5 million they’ll pay out to their athletes as part of the $2.8 billion House settlement would go to football and men’s basketball players.
Look at Georgia. Athletic director Josh Brooks broke down the proposed distribution of the cash influx, saying the football program would earn 75% of that money while men’s basketball would get 15% of the pie and the rest to women’s basketball.
At Villanova and other Big East programs, the bulk of that war chest is going to men’s basketball.
“In the Big East,” Duke athletic director Nina King told Yahoo, “their basketball revenue-share portion will be a lot more than what those of us can do who have Division I power football programs.”Villanova fired Neptune earlier this month after a three-year run in which he succeeded Hall of Fame coach Jay Wright and failed to make the NCAA Tournament.
Willard, who turns 50 on April 6, led Maryland to a 65-39 overall record in three seasons at the school, with two March Madness appearances in three seasons. This was his seventh NCAA Tournament berth overall after getting there five times with Seton Hall, and his first time in the Sweet 16.
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