Locking up Vitello shows Vols commitment
Before the end of the regular season, Tennessee athletic director Phillip Fulmer began working on a new contract for baseball coach Tony Vitello. The two agreed to a contract extension Wednesday paying the Vols’ head man $580,000 in 2020 with yearly increases that will reach $650,000 by the end of the deal.
The deal comes two and a half weeks after Tennessee’s resurgent 2019 season came to an end with a loss in the Chapel Hill regional final.
"Impressive doesn't begin to describe the job Tony has done with our baseball program these past two seasons," Tennessee Athletic Director Phillip Fulmer said in a press release. "I believe we have in Coach Vitello one of the nation's brightest young head coaches. From managing the game, to player development, to recruiting and relating to today's student-athletes—Tony has a firm grasp on all aspect of leading a major program. He's surrounded himself with an outstanding staff, and we are going to support them as Tennessee baseball continues to climb."
Vitello won’t make close to the salary of the league’s highest paid coaches. Florida’s Kevin O’Sullivan makes $1.25 million annually, but Vitello's new deal is a nice boost from the $479,000 the second year head man made in 2019
Vitello, a first-time head coach, has brought the Tennessee baseball program back to national prominence in his two years in Knoxville, as the Vols won their most games and made the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2005.
Chris Burke, a former All-American at Tennessee and current ESPN analyst, first broke the news Wednesday crediting Fulmer and Vitello for reaching a deal and acknowledging the facility improvements coming in the future.
Vitello’s new deal shows a continued, and needed, commitment to the Vols’ baseball program that has been one of the SEC’s worst over the past decade.
Tennessee’s poor facilities and comparatively northern location have hindered the Vols in the past and Vitello has harped on the need to improve the facilities at Lindsey Nelson Stadium moving forward.
The new turf field that debuted in 2019 was a step in the right direction allowing Tennessee to practice and play poor weather games early in the season and jump out to the best start in program history.
Locking up Vitello, one of the best young coaches in the game, for five years is a huge coup for the Vols as they look to build on their impressive 2019 campaign.
With continued success major powers will inevitably make runs at Vitello in the future but resigning Vitello shows the Vols’ athletic department has made a step in the right direction in trying to secure its best assets.
The move will allow the Vols to continue to build success on and off the field instead of starting from stage one again. Vitello’s success as a young head coach bodes well for the Vols’ future and things shouldn’t plateau where they are. Life in the SEC is never easy, but with Vitello at the helm and a commitment to improving facilities, the Vols could establish themselves as a legit SEC contender.
Vitello will quickly be faced with a difficult task as the Vols will look to replace players they lost to the MLB Draft including pitchers Garrett Stallings, Andrew Schultz, Zach Linginfelter, and star third basemen Andre Lipcius.
However, talent remains on the Tennessee roster, and continued development of the pitching staff, a strong suit for the Vols since Vitello pegged Frank Anderson as pitching coach, could lead to even more success in 2020.