Amidst Byington Extension, Vanderbilt Continues to Take Athletics Seriously: The Anchor – Sports Illustrated

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Vanderbilt athletics continues to be on the rise.
Saturday afternoon, Vanderbilt men’s basketball head coach Mark Byington signed a long-term extension to stay with the program for years to come. The Commodores are coming off a 27-9 season that featured its first NCAA Tournament win since 2012 and just one win shy of tying the program record.
Byington’s extension gives comfort to the fans, the administration and the coaching staff. It also ensures that the 2025-2026 season was not just a wonderful year that would not be repeatable. Rather, the extension shows that Vanderbilt basketball is going to continue to compete for conference championships and deeper tournament runs.
Overall, Vanderbilt athletics has been on first over the past few months. Vanderbilt football had a historic 10-3 season and Vanderbilt soccer went to the Elite Eight for the first time in program history in 2025.
As a result, Vanderbilt football head coach Clark Lea got a contract extension and so did Vanderbilt soccer head coach Darren Ambrose. Between the three, Vanderbilt is home to some of the best coaches in the country in their respective sports.
Vanderbilt is a place players and coaches want to be. And the city of Nashville has turned all of its attention to Vanderbilt athletics.
160 days
Vanderbilt lacrosse beat Charlotte 16-7.
Vanderbilt baseball beat No. 21 Tennessee 6-5 in 16 innings.
Vanderbilt baseball vs. No. 21 Tennessee, 11 a.m. CT on ESPN2.
Vanderbilt women’s tennis at Kentucky, 12 p.m. CT.
Vanderbilt men’s tennis vs. No. 7 LSU, 1 p.m. CT.
Vanderbilt soccer vs. Indiana (Exhibition), 4 p.m. CT.
Vanderbilt women’s golf at the Clemson Invitational, Day 3.
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Graham Baakko is a writer for Vanderbilt Commodores On SI, primarily covering football, basketball and baseball. Graham is a recent graduate from the University of Alabama, where he wrote for The Crimson White, WVUA-FM, WVUA 23 as he covered a variety of Crimson Tide sports. He also covered South Carolina athletics as a sportswriting intern for GamecockCentral.
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