Tony Vitello will make $140,000 in bonus money after leading No. 1 Tennessee to the college baseball national championship in the 6-5 win over No. 3 Texas A&M Monday night at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha.
It’s the first national championship in program history for the Vols, who also set a new program record and SEC record with 60 wins on the season, finishing at 60-13. Tennessee is the first No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament to win the College World Series since Miami in 1999.
According to Vitello’s contract, he will be rewarded 40% of his $350,000 base salary for winning the national title. Finishing as the runner-up would’ve meant a 32% bonus ($112,000).
The seventh-year Tennessee head coach went to Omaha having already guaranteed himself $98,000 in bonus money, earning 28% of his base salary by leading Tennessee to an appearance in the College World Series for the second straight year and third time in four years.
Tony Vitello’s original contract had eight bonus levels for postseason success
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.
Tony Vitello’s currently signed through June 2026
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 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.
The run in Omaha started with a 12-11 walk-off win over Florida State, with the Vols scoring four runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to stun the Seminoles. It was just the second win for Tennessee in its first game at the College World Series, with the 1995 team previously being the only one to win Game 1.
Next was a 6-1 win over North Carolina, then a 7-2 win over Florida State to eliminate the ‘Noles and send Tennessee to the best-of-three championship series against Texas A&M. The Aggies won Game 1 on Saturday night, 9-5, before Tennessee rallied for a 4-1 win Sunday afternoon to force Game 3.
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