OMAHA, Neb. — Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn received a contract extension after the Razorbacks' last appearance in the College World Series in 2015, and it appears he could receive another extension after this year's trip to Omaha.
Arkansas athletics director Hunter Yurachek said Saturday that extending Van Horn's contract "is on my radar screen" after the Razorbacks' season ends. Arkansas is scheduled to play Texas in the College World Series on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Van Horn, 57, is in his 16th season at his alma mater. He has a 639-332 record at Arkansas and has taken the Razorbacks to the College World Series five times.
"We'd love for Dave Van Horn to be our baseball coach for as long as he wants to be our baseball coach," Yurachek said. "That's something he and I will sit down and discuss once the season is over. His focus, as it should be right now, is here in Omaha and winning a national championship."
Van Horn is working on a contract that runs through the 2021 season. His annual compensation is $775,000 before bonuses, which this year will total more than $100,000.
Van Horn received a $75,000 bonus for his 600th win at Arkansas in February; $15,000 for winning a share of the SEC West championship in May; and will receive at least two month's salary for taking the Razorbacks to the College World Series. He would earn a bonus of $100,000 for winning a national championship and other, smaller academic-based bonuses are written into his contract.
Speaking broadly, Yurachek said he prefers to have his coaches on agreements with five years guaranteed and incentives that would automatically trigger one-year extensions.
"I like to reward coaches for success and have that built into their contract," Yurachek said. "A five-year contract may become a seven- or eight-year contract if you hit certain benchmarks that automatically roll your contract over."
Van Horn signed his current agreement on July 26, 2015, less than five weeks after the season ended at the College World Series.
In addition to Van Horn, Yurachek said he hopes to have a new contract for softball coach Courtney Deifel this summer. Yurachek said he has had "preliminary conversations" with Deifel, the third-year coach who took the Razorbacks to an NCAA super regional and hosted an NCAA regional for the first time this year.
"I think we're pretty close to being on the same page for an extension that would keep her here for the foreseeable future," Yurachek said.