North Texas is facing a buyout of half a million dollars after women’s basketball coach Jalie Mitchell announced her departure from the school Monday.
That total could be reduced through a mitigation clause in the contract.
Mitchell spent eight seasons leading the Mean Green and finished with a 111-127 record.
UNT made a pair of postseason appearances under Mitchell, the program’s all-time leading scorer and a member of the school’s Athletics Hall of Fame. The Mean Green advanced to the final of the Women’s Basketball Invitational in the 2018-19 season and played in the National Invitation Tournament last year.
Mitchell, who scored 1,764 points at UNT, signed a contract extension that pushed her deal through the 2025-26 season last summer that included a revised buyout clause.
UNT will owe Mitchell her full base salary of $205,500 for the next two seasons and 50% of that total for the 2025-26 campaign. The mitigation clause in the contract that requires Mitchell to seek new employment will likely reduce UNT’s financial obligation to her.
A UNT official with knowledge of the situation confirmed the financial terms of Mitchell’s buyout to the Denton Record-Chronicle on Wednesday.
The Mean Green entered the season with high hopes after posting their second straight winning season and second consecutive campaign with 10 wins in Conference USA play.
UNT finished 17-13 in the 2021-22 season, when the Mean Green went 10-7 in league play. UNT advanced to the semifinals of the conference tournament before falling to Charlotte.
School officials hoped that Mitchell and the Mean Green could build on that performance. Former UNT athletic director Wren Baker signed off on Mitchell’s extension.
The Mean Green took a step back this season while struggling with injuries and inconsistency. UNT finished 11-20 on the season and 8-12 in conference play.
The Mean Green lost key post player Jaylen Mallard to a season-ending injury in the preseason and were blown out by in-state rivals Stephen F. Austin, SMU and UTA in nonconference play.
UNT finished seventh in C-USA in the regular season and fell to UAB in the conference tournament. UNT lost to the Blazers, a team that finished 5-15 in conference play, three times this season.
That finish led school officials to elect to move in another direction after Mitchell stabilized a program that had four coaches in eight years when she took over in the spring of 2015.
UNT was coming off a 5-24 season under Mike Petersen when Mitchell arrived. The Mean Green went 11-19 in Mitchell’s first season and increased their win total in each of her first four years.
UNT extended Mitchell’s contract six times during her tenue that reached its peak when the Mean Green posted winning campaigns in four of out of five seasons beginning in the 2017-18 campaign.
UNT elected to buy out the remainder of Mitchell’s deal this week after the Mean Green finished with 11 wins this year, matching the lowest total of her tenure set in her debut campaign.
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