Virginia Tech announced Friday that they have agreed to contract extensions with six of their head coaches.
Six of our head coaches have received contract extensions 🙌
— HokieSports (@hokiesports) July 9, 2021
The coaches to receive extensions are Mike Young (Men’s Basketball), John Szefc (Baseball), Dave Cianelli (Track and Field, Cross County), Carol Robertson (Women’s Golf), Jim Thompson (Men’s Tennis), and Terry Ann Zawacki-Holdren (Women’s Tennis).
Amongst some of the biggest names are men’s basketball Head Coach Mike Young and baseball Head Coach John Szefc, who are coming off their best seasons during their tenures in Blacksburg.
Young’s extension is confirmed to be for three years, meaning that his contract will now run through the 2026-27 basketball season and give him at least six more seasons at the position.
Through his first two seasons at the helm, Young has led the Hokies to a 31-23 overall record, with an ACC record of 16-17.
Young is coming off a breakthrough season in the role, where he earned the honor of being named ACC Coach of the Year after leading the Hokies to a 15-7 overall record. He also helped the Hokies to finish third in the ACC regular season standings with a 9-4 mark, tied with the highest mark in program history.
On top of last season’s success, Young became the fastest Virginia Tech men’s basketball head coach to make the NCAA Tournament after only two seasons at the position.
Young has been the head coach at Virginia Tech since the 2019-20 season when he took over for Buzz Williams after Williams' five seasons in Blacksburg before leaving for Texas A&M.
Meanwhile, Szefc just completed his fourth season as the manager of the Virginia Tech baseball team; and for the first time under his tenure, he led the Hokies to a winning record in a completed season at a 27-25 mark.
On top of having his best win percentage in Blacksburg, it was the highest win total for Virginia Tech in a single season since 2013. His 16 conference wins was also the most in a single season for the Hokies since 2010.
Szefc’s extension will also run through the 2026-27 academic year, which will add four seasons to his contract which was originally set to expire in the 2022-23 academic year.
In addition to Young’s and Szefc’s contract extensions, the other head coaches who were extended on Friday are coming off successful seasons with their respective programs.
Cianelli is one of the longest-tenured head coaches at Virginia Tech who recently completed his 21st season at the helm of the track & field and cross country program.
During his time at Virginia Tech, he has led the Hokies to 17 conference championships which included capturing the 2021 ACC Men's Indoor Championships. The title was won by the largest margin in an indoor event by a program in the modern conference history.
In addition to the 17 team championships won during his time with the program, Cianelli has also produced 310 All-America honors and double-digit individual national championships.
His contract will now run through the 2023-24 academic year, setting him up to be Tech's coach for at least 24 seasons.
Robertson has been the coach of the Women’s Golf program ever since it was introduced at Virginia Tech and is coming off their first NCAA Championship finals appearance.
This marked the third consecutive year that Robertson has led the women’s golf program to the NCAA Tournament and helped the team receive its highest national ranking of all time at No. 14 on the final edition of the 2021 Golfstat Rankings.
Her contract will now through the 2026-27 academic year as she will continue to lead her program in the upward trajectory that it is currently on towards.
Thompson, the longest-tenured head coach at Virginia Tech, agreed to a contract extension that will keep him at the position until the 2025-26 academic year.
During his time as the men’s tennis head coach, he has led the Hokies to 15 NCAA Tournament appearances; with 12 of them occurring in the previous 14 seasons which included an appearance in 2021.
The future is looking rather bright for the program as well with a Top 20 overall recruit and his son, Frank, attending Virginia Tech in the upcoming Fall.
This extension will bring his total to 27 years at the helm of Virginia Tech Men’s Tennis, and he hopes that he can continue leading a NCAA Tournament regular program in Blacksburg.
In the women’s tennis department, Zawacki-Holdren looks to put some tough years behind her at the program after producing back-to-back losing seasons.
During her time at the position, she has led Virginia Tech to two NCAA Tournament appearances, which included a presence in the second round in 2015 for the first time in program history.
Her contract will now run through the 2022-23 academic year bringing her total years of coaching up to 18, making her one of the longest-tenured coaches at Virginia Tech.
