Johnny Dawkins Getting Contract Extension

The report comes less than a week after UCF athletic director Terry Mohajir said to the Orlando Sentinel that "several different scenarios" were looked at for an extension for Dawkins' extension on Thursday and after the Knights fell to UCLA on Friday, 75-71, wrapping up their second March Madness appearance under Dawkins and first since 2019.

Dawkins called Orlando his "second home" following the Knights' loss to the Bruins on Friday, though he mentioned he had not had a chance to think about his contract or the future due to his and the team's preparation for the NCAA Tournament.

"So, I haven't had a chance to really think about any of those things, other than you guys know, I love UCF, I love Orlando, and our community has been great to me my entire time there," Dawkins said. "So, I have nothing but, you know, fondness for the area and we'll see what happens."

Before this current extension, Dawkins was set to enter the final season of a two-year extension he signed back in the summer of 2024, in which he would make $2.2 million, after two back-to-back NIT appearances. Counting other postseason tournaments like that, Dawkins has now led the Knights into the postseason for four consecutive seasons and in six of his ten seasons in Orlando.

Dawkins was paid $2 million for this past season, as well as the 2024-25 season preceding it, which made him the lowest-paid men's basketball coach in the Big 12.

While Dawkins said the Knights did not achieve their ultimate goal this season, they did "achieve some special things" along the way, like being the first team in the Big 12 era to earn a bid to March Madness.

"Those are things that we achieved on the way as we were trying to fulfill our goals that we had in front of us," Dawkins said. "So, just really happy for our guys in that regard."

With his job security now confirmed, Dawkins can now turn his sights to assembling his 2026-27 Knights squad with two weeks to prepare for the official opening of the transfer portal.