After leading Tennessee football to its winningest three-year stretch in more than two decades, head coach
Josh Heupel has received a contract extension through January 2030, Vice Chancellor/Director of Athletics Danny White announced Tuesday.
"The revival of our football program under Josh's leadership has made everyone in Big Orange Country proud to be a Vol," White said. "Josh has brought Tennessee Football back to its rightful place among the nation's elite programs, and he and his staff have fostered a positive culture within the team. Our commitment to supporting Josh and his staff remains strong and unwavering."
Heupel's revival of the Volunteers has seen him produce a 37-15 overall record, 11 victories over Top 25 teams, the school's first College Football Playoff and New Year's Six appearances and multiple double-digit win seasons. The 11 ranked wins are sixth nationally among FBS head coaches during that span and are already fifth in UT history.
"I greatly appreciate the support of Danny White, President Boyd and Chancellor Plowman," Heupel said. "During an era of change in our sport, their leadership and commitment to helping us build a championship football program is strong.
"We took over a program in 2021 during a turbulent time. We quickly built a resilient, player-driven culture and have enjoyed great success on and off the field, but there is still much left to do. I am excited about the future of Tennessee Football, and I can't wait to run through the T once again with Vol Nation proudly supporting us."
Heupel's .712 winning percentage is the second-highest by a Vol coach in the last five decades. His 37 wins are the third-most through the first four full seasons by a UT coach, trailing only Bill Battle (39 from 1970-73) and Phillip Fulmer (38 from 1993-96). Heupel took over a program that was 3-7 prior to his arrival and rebuilt its culture during a period of NCAA sanctions.
Heupel's Vols have thrived against rivals and SEC competition. Tennessee defeated Alabama and Florida in the same season twice from 2022-24. Meanwhile, the Vols have won 16 SEC contests since the start of 2022, which is the program's best three-year stretch run since claiming 18 from 2002-04. That total is third-best among SEC coaches during that span.
Tennessee has finished ahead of where it was projected to finish in the SEC media poll three out of the four previous years under Heupel, including the 2024 campaign that saw the Vols tie for second in the final SEC regular season standings with a 10-2 overall mark and a 6-2 SEC slate. That record propelled UT into its first College Football Playoff and a No. 8 Coaches poll final ranking. Tennessee was projected to finish seventh in the SEC media poll in July 2024.
In the process, Heupel became the third coach in school history with multiple 10-win regular seasons, joining Fulmer (five times in 17 years) and Gen. Robert Neyland (five times in 21 years). Prior to Heupel's arrival, Tennessee had not produced a 10-win regular season since 2003, and they have done it twice under his watch.
Player development has been on full display in the Heupel era. Three standouts have earned SEC Player of the Year laurels – Velus Jones Jr. (2021 Special Teams), Hendon Hooker (2022 Offensive) and
Dylan Sampson (2024 Offensive). Seventeen Vols have been selected in the NFL Draft under his watch, which is the highest four-year span of picks for UT since 2005-08.
Tennessee's on-field success has correlated in the classroom as the Vols have shattered the program record for GPA in four consecutive fall semesters under Heupel. The Vols produced semester records for GPA in the fall of 2024 (3.18) and the spring of 2025 (3.25).
Tennessee produced 60 SEC Academic Honor Roll recipients in the fall of 2024, one year after celebrating a program record 63 in 2023. A total of 193 UT players have garnered SEC Academic Honor Roll accolades in four previous seasons under Heupel.
Heupel emphasized the holistic development of the student-athlete and enhanced the team's player development staff with the establishment of eVOLve. The group focuses on year-round programming geared toward preparing the Vols for personal, academic and leadership success, as well as community engagement efforts.
Heupel begins his fifth season at the helm on Rocky Top when Tennessee takes on Syracuse in the Aflac Kickoff Game at noon ET Saturday in Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium.