Northwestern head coach Chris Collins has signed a new multi-year contract extension. The American’s previous contract ran through the 2028 NCAA basketball season, but he has now signed a deal that will see him become one of the highest-paid coaches in college basketball.
It is currently unclear what the figures involved in the new deal are and how long his new contract will run; however, reports indicate that his new salary and compensation will put him comfortably among the Big Ten’s top coaches.
Collins Rewarded For Consistent Performance
Collins has been in charge of Northwestern for 12 years, leading them to three NCAA tournament berths in the last nine years. This includes back-to-back appearances in 2023 and 2024 when they reached the second round each time. The Wildcats also equaled a program record for conference wins in a single season and recorded the most over two years in the program’s history.
Northwestern has improved remarkably in the last three years, recording the longest winning streak in the program’s history. They reached the Round of 32 in 2023 and 2024, but their 2025 campaign was hit with an injury crisis, and they only managed to finish the season with a 7–16 record.
The 50-year-old has the second-most wins of any Northwestern men’s basketball coach in history and led the team to their first-ever March Madness in 2016-2017. He was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year in 2023.
However, Collins’s impact extends beyond leading the team to success. He recruited and developed NU’s all-time leading scorer, former guard Boo Buie, who entered college as an under-the-radar prospect ranked outside the top 150 in the 2019 class. The 50-year-old led the Wildcats from a three-win Big Ten slate to two 12-win conference seasons as Buie became a key player during his five-year stay at the college.
Wildcats Face Uncertain Off-season Amid Roster Turnover
After putting pen to paper on a new contract that sees him join the Big Ten’s Top-Paid Coaches, Collins will look to leave an injury-riddled 2024/25 season behind. Northwestern could be on the cusp of a significant rebuild with multiple program cornerstones, such as Ty Berry, Matthew Nicholson, and Brooks Barnhizer graduating this year.
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Junior forward Nick Martinelli has declared for the NBA draft but retained his collegiate eligibility. Collins was hopeful that the forward who led the Big Ten in scoring and set a new program single-season scoring record last season would return to Northwestern for his final season of eligibility.
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