AKRON, Ohio -- Following a trip to the NCAA tournament, Akron has extended coach John Groce's contract through the 2029-30 season.
Groce led the Zips to Mid-American Conference tournament title last season and the league's automatic NCAA bid.
Groce's previous deal was to expire after the 2026 season.
Groce's salary of $650,000 stays the same, and he can achieve new retention bonuses of $75,000 on July 31, 2025, and $75,000 on July 31, 2028, sources told ESPN's Pete Thamel.
"He embodies Akron's ongoing commitment to the total development of our student-athletes," athletic director Charles Guthrie said Wednesday. "We are thankful to John and his family for all they've done over the past five seasons and we look forward to our program's bright future under his leadership."
Groce kept his salary the same in order to invest more in the program, including a dedicated strength coach and an increased assistant coach salary pool, sources told Thamel.
Groce, who previously coached at Ohio and Illinois, has gone 94-59 since taking over Akron's program in 2017. The Zips are 63-25 overall and 40-16 in MAC play over the past three seasons under Groce.
The 50-year-old Groce also led Ohio and Illinois to the NCAA tournament.
This season, Akron won its final eight games, including a 20-point victory over rival Kent State in the MAC championship to earn its fifth NCAA berth. The Zips were a No. 13 seed and lost 57-53 in the first round to fourth-seeded UCLA.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.