UCF basketball coach Johnny Dawkins signs 2-year contract extension

Orlando, Florida. – Johnny Dawkins is staying in Orlando.

UCF announced Friday that the men’s basketball head coach signed a two-year contract extension that would keep him through the 2026-2027 season.

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“I want to thank our President Alexander N. Cartwright and Vice President and Director of Athletics Terry Mohajir for the trust they have placed in me to continue leading this program,” Dawkins said in a statement. “We had some success in our first season in the Big 12 and I’m excited to continue building on that for the future. This is a special place for my family and I have loved coaching UCF since day one. I will always put all my heart into this University.”

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Dawkins led the Knights to a 17-16 overall record in their inaugural Big 12 Conference season, which included a postseason berth in the National Invitation Tournament.

In that first Big 12 season, UCF notched eight wins against conference opponents, including three ranked teams: No. 3 Kansas, No. 23 Oklahoma and No. 23 Texas Tech. Overall, eight of UCF’s 10 wins over ranked opponents came under Dawkins’ leadership.

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“UCF had only achieved multiple wins over top-25 opponents in the same season once, which was also under Dawkins’ leadership during the 2018-19 season, which ended with a second-round appearance in the NCAA tournament,” said the UCF Athletics in a statement.

Athletic Director Terry Mohajir said he is excited about what’s to come as the Dawkins era at UCF continues.

“If you were one of the people who watched our home games this season, you saw firsthand how we competed under Johnny’s leadership in our first season in the toughest basketball conference in the country,” Mohajir said in a statement. “Johnny has done a great job leading this program and we are excited for him to continue to be our head coach. As part of Mission XII, we have and will continue to raise funds and invest in basketball in all four areas (personnel, operations, recruiting and facilities ) to increase our budget to the top half of the league for sustained success.”