Ole Miss Announces Raise, Contract Extension For Mike Bianco
Oxford, Miss. – Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter announced Tuesday that head baseball coach Mike Bianco has received a contract extension.
The deal is for four years with a base salary of $1.625 million per year, plus many incentives for wins and performance in both the regular season and postseason.
The contract makes Bianco the second-highest paid coach in the SEC, behind only Vanderbilt’s Tim Corbin.
https://t.co/V2NhfWAn4U pic.twitter.com/Qzk54pijXW
— Austin Eldridge (@AustinonAir1021) August 10, 2022
The extension comes in the wake of the Rebels winning their first-ever baseball national championship, defeating Oklahoma in the College World Series in June.
After limping to a 7-14 record in the SEC by midseason, Ole Miss put together one of the greatest turnarounds in the history of the sport, including a 10-1 record in the postseason after earning one of the last four bids into the field of 64.
“We are blessed to have Mike Bianco as our head coach, and we intend for him to lead our baseball team for many, many years to come. With his remarkable track record, no one was more deserving of that national title run than Mike. We have accomplished so much in every facet of our program, and under Mike’s leadership, we look forward to continuing that level of success and experiencing more championship moments.“
-Keith Carter on Mike Bianco
What A Moment
The championship was a very special moment for Bianco, who tuned out the disparaging criticism that he faced far too often and just kept leading his team.
A champions embrace.#MCWS x @OleMissBSB pic.twitter.com/Bm2LK6CvNh
— NCAA Baseball (@NCAABaseball) June 26, 2022
22 years as the head coach of @OleMissBSB.
What a moment 🙌 pic.twitter.com/vMbSUHUbM9
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) June 27, 2022
Ole Miss Under Bianco
Mike Bianco has been the head coach of the Rebels for 22 years.
During that span, he has become the winningest coach in Ole Miss history, with a record of 862-485-1, good enough for third all time in the SEC.
He is also the winningest and longest-active coach in the SEC among the sports of baseball, men’s basketball and football. Bianco is one of just three coaches in SEC history with at least 800 wins, joining Ron Polk and Skip Bertman in that category.
The Rebels have reached the 30-win mark in every single season under Bianco other than 2020, which was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ten of those seasons have had at least 40 wins.
The Rebels have reached the postseason in 18 of Bianco’s 22 seasons, reaching Omaha twice, ultimately winning the national championship in 2022. Other accomplishments under Bianco include:
- 2009 SEC regular season champions
- Two-time SEC tournament champions (2006, 2018)
- Four-time SEC west champions (2005, 2009, 2014, 2018)
- Eight NCAA super regional appearances (2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2014, 2019, 2021, 2022)
Looking Ahead
After the relief of finally getting that elusive title, Bianco was right back to work, leading the United States collegiate national team to a bronze medal. And there’s no rest for the wicked as the Rebels’ skipper will begin preparing for the 2023 season along with finishing the recruiting cycle.
Ole Miss has a unique non-conference schedule for 2023, including weekend series’ with Delaware, Maryland, Purdue and the SEC-Big 10 tourney in Minneapolis, featuring games against Minnesota, Nebraska, and Maryland.
“I am ecstatic about continuing to lead this incredible program with the support of a community that means so much to Camie and me. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, there is no better fan base in the country. We’ve always known that but after what you guys did in Omaha, the entire country knows it – Rebel fans showed up and made a difference. As always, none of this happens without the incredible players and coached who have helped us build this program along the way. I can’t wait to see everyone back at Swayze next spring and I am proud to be an Ole Miss Rebel.“
Mike Bianco
Austin Eldridge
Austin has more than ten years in sports media, including sports talk radio, play-by-play broadcasting and journalism. He has followed Ole Miss athletics for his entire life and has covered the Rebels and the rest of the SEC while working in the Memphis media market. Outside of sports media, Austin is a musician and outdoorsman. Before a serious accident forced him to be medically discharged, he was a multi-media journalist with the Mississippi National Guard.
