The Coaching Carousel for college basketball is a series where we break down contracts and candidates. You can read more about it here or dive deeper into Bryan Hodgson, Chris Mack, Travis Steele, Andy Newman, Jerrod Calhoun, or Takayo Siddle profiles.
The success and trajectory that Eric Olen built at UC San Diego has not only carried over to the University of New Mexico, but it has also strengthened and accelerated his coaching stock.
The season that launched him onto the national radar saw UC San Diego go 30-5 and reach the NCAA Tournament in its first year of Division I postseason eligibility. Just five years earlier, Olen had led the Tritons to a 30-1 season and the Division II NCAA Tournament, earning a No. 4 national ranking before the tournament was canceled due to the COVID pandemic.
That type of rapid program growth is rare in college basketball (or in any sport), and it helped make Olen one of the more intriguing names during the last coaching carousel.
Is he a one-and-done candidate at New Mexico? Potentially.
But the Lobos structured a contract that provides real protection while rewarding a coach whose stock has risen quickly. Noted below, but it has the second buyout clause embedded, which was originally popularized by VCU basketball.
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Eric Olen Contract
Term: March 30, 2025 – March 31, 2030 (or the final game of the 2029-30 season)
Guaranteed Annual Compensation
2025-26: $1,200,000
2026-27: $1,250,000
2027-28: $1,300,000
2028-29: $1,350,000
2029-30: $1,400,000
Also of note in his contract, when Olen left UC San Diego, New Mexico and then-athletic director Fernando Lovo assumed a $150,000 business payment to UC San Diego as part of the transition between the programs.
Eric Olen Buyout
If Olen leaves for another job before the contract expires, the buyout declines each year.
Contract Year One: $2,650,000
Contract Year Two: $2,025,000
Contract Year Three: $1,100,000
Contract Year Four: $560,000
Contract Year Five: $0
The agreement defines a contract year as running from April 1 through March 31, aligning with the general college basketball calendar. The first contract year is slightly adjusted because the deal began March 30, 2025, but after that, the contract follows the April 1 to March 31 cycle.
Payments tied to the buyout are structured in monthly installments over the greater of 36 months or the remaining contract term.
The deal also includes a scheduling clause. If Olen leaves for another Division I head coaching job, the new school must either schedule a two-year home-and-home series with New Mexico beginning within three years or pay $250,000 in lieu of the games.
This is one of my favorite clauses, and every mid-major athletic director should include it in some shape or form in every coach’s contract. Popularized by VCU several years ago, it often forces the new school to simply add to the buyout number because the new coach typically does not want to go play at the place he or she just left. So in all of these contract buyout years, you can essentially add another $250,000.
D1 Coaching Record
Season | School | Record | Notes
2020-21 | UC San Diego | 7-10
2021-22 | UC San Diego | 13-16
2022-23 | UC San Diego | 10-20
2023-24 | UC San Diego | 21-12 | Big West runner-up
2024-25 | UC San Diego | 30-5 | Big West regular season and tournament champion; NCAA Tournament
2025-26 | New Mexico | 22-9 | Mountain West
D1 Career Record: 103-72 (.589)
UC San Diego: 81-63
New Mexico: 22-9
Breakthrough at UC San Diego
Before arriving in Albuquerque, Olen spent 21 years at UC San Diego, including the final 12 as head coach. He built the Tritons into a Division II power and then guided the program through the transition to Division I.
Eric Olen became the head coach at UC San Diego in 2013 and steadily built the program into a consistent winner before the school transitioned to Division I. During that stretch, the Tritons made five consecutive NCAA Division II Tournament appearances from 2016 to 2020, reaching the West Regional Final twice. The peak came in 2019-20 when UC San Diego went 30-1 and finished No. 4 nationally before the NCAA tournament was canceled due to the COVID pandemic. The program also captured three CCAA regular-season titles during that run, and Olen was named CCAA Coach of the Year twice.
In 2024-25, UC San Diego went 30-5, winning both the Big West regular season and tournament titles and reaching the NCAA Tournament in its first year of Division I postseason eligibility. The Tritons finished 39th in KenPom and 35th in the NET, the highest ranking for a non-Power conference program outside the WCC that season. Olen earned both Big West Coach of the Year and NABC Pacific District Coach of the Year honors.
Overview
What makes Olen attractive to athletic directors is the trajectory.
He built a program from Division II success to Division I relevance, produced analytically efficient teams, and has shown the ability to win quickly at higher levels. He also took over a strong situation at New Mexico and maintained, if not built upon, the success Richard Pitino had. Not to mention, this year’s UC San Diego team finished fifth in the Big West, which suggests there may be something real to his track record as a successful coach, not just a builder benefiting from existing basketball culture, including at New Mexico.
New Mexico secured a coach with clear upward momentum, and I think they understood that with the way this contract is written. The structure provides some protection if larger programs eventually come calling, while also reflecting the reality that Eric Olen is a coach whose rise may still be unfolding. Regardless, Olen will be a fascinating name to watch on the carousel.
