Maryland women’s basketball head coach Brenda Frese has signed a contract extension that will keep her in College Park through the 2026-2027 season.
Frese’s contract is a six-year deal with a base salary of $1.4 million and includes an additional one-year extension, as reported by The Washington Post. Frese’s old deal, signed in 2016, was set to expire next month.
Although the previous agreement had rollover years that would’ve extended into 2025, Frese and athletic director Damon Evans agreed to a new deal that gave the program’s winningest coach a longer contract and a raise.
“[The athletic department] support us to the highest level,” Frese said. “There’s no coincidence when you have the right formula and the right support, that Maryland should be a dominant program and should be a lasting program.”
[Cornrows and confetti: a look back on Brenda Frese’s time with Maryland women’s basketball]
The new contract comes after a season in which Frese navigated her young team through the COVID-19 pandemic, leading the squad to Big Ten regular season and tournament championships and a berth in the Sweet Sixteen.
“I’m really proud of the fact of the consistency that this program has been able to uphold,” Frese said. “It means a lot to continue to hold this program at a really high level because that’s where Maryland belongs.”
By the time the extension on the new contract expires, she’ll have been in College Park for more than 25 years, something she could’ve never imagined when she took the job in 2002.
“I really was hoping that I could find a place that I could call home, and you know just so blessed to be able to call Maryland home,” Frese said. “I’m going to be here for a very long time, and just excited about continuing to build on our future.”
