Tony Vitello is already set to cash in on Tennessee Baseball’s run to the College World Series. But the head coach of the Vols will earn more bonus money the longer his team stays alive in Omaha.
According to Vitello’s contract, he so far has reached $98,000 in bonus money, earning 28% of his base salary ($350,000) by leading Tennessee to an appearance in the College World Series.
Vitello would receive $112,000 in bonus money (32% of base pay) should Tennessee reach the championship series in Omaha and would get $140,000 (40% of base pay) should the Vols win the program’s first national championship.
The original contract between Vitello and Tennessee included eight bonus levels for “SEC/NCAA achievement,” with Vitello eligible to receive a maximum of one incentive payment based on the team’s highest achievement.
Making only the SEC Tournament would’ve been a 4% bonus, appearing in an NCAA Regional would’ve been an 8% bonus and hosting an NCAA Regional as one of the top-16 national seeds would’ve been a 12% bonus.
Winning an SEC regular-season or SEC Tournament championship would’ve been a 16% bonus, appearing in an NCAA Super Regional would’ve been a 20% bonus and hosting a Super Regional as a top-eight national seed would’ve triggered a 24% bonus.
CWS Game 1: No. 1 Tennessee vs. No. 8 Florida State, Friday, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN
His latest contract amendment, signed in July 2021, runs through June 30, 2026. It updated the bonus structure to a 32% bonus for appearing in the championship series at the College World Series and a 40% bonus for winning a national title.
Tennessee (55-12) is the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament for the second time in the last three years and opens its stay in the College World Series against No. 8 Florida State (47-15) on Friday (7 p.m. Eastern Time, ESPN).
The winner between the Vols and Seminoles will advance to face the winner between No. 4 North Carolina (47-14) and No. 12 Virginia (46-15) on Sunday (6 p.m. ET, ESPN2). The losers from the opening round will play Sunday at 1 p.m. ET (ESPN) in the double-elimination format.
Tennessee is in the College World Series for the third time in the last four seasons under Vitello. It’s the seventh all-time appearance in Omaha for the Vols, who also went in 1951 and three times in an 11-year span under former head coach Rod Delmonico, in 1995, 2001 and 2005.
Vitello led Tennessee past Evansville in the three-game super regional series last weekend at Lindsey Nelson Stadium, after sweeping through the Knoxville Regional with wins over Northern Kentucky, Indiana and Southern Miss the week before.
Tennessee has won 50 or more games in three of last four seasons
The Vols are two wins away from tying the single-season wins record set by the 2022 team. Tennessee has won at least 50 games three times in the last four seasons, after they won 57 in 2022 and 50 in 2021.
No other team college baseball has done the same over the same span. Before Vitello, it had only happened twice in program history, with Tennessee winning 52 games in 1994 and 54 in 1995.
Tennessee also won a share of the SEC’s regular-season championship and won the SEC Tournament title, sweeping the league for the second time in three years.
Before Vitello arrived, Tennessee had won only three SEC Tournaments (1993, 1994 and 1995). The Vols had won only three regular-season championships before Vitello, doing so in 1951, 1994 and 1995.
Tennessee went 14 years between appearances in the NCAA postseason, with Vitello snapping that streak in 2019. Before the Vols were the No. 2 seed in the Chapel Hill Regional that season, Tennessee hadn’t played an NCAA Tournament game since June 19, 2005.
Vitello now has the Vols on a run of 12 straight regional wins and four straight super regional appearances.
Tennessee advanced out of the Clemson Regional a year ago, then won at Southern Miss in three games in Super Regional play to get back to Omaha. The Vols beat Stanford in their second game, the program’s first win at the College World Series since 2001.
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