What Rick Barnes said about getting 250th win with Tennessee basketballWynton Jackson, Knoxville News SentinelSun, February 15, 2026 at 4:40 AM UTC·1 min readTennessee basketball coach Rick Barnes surpassed a lofty milestone on Feb. 14.
Barnes, 71, earned his 250th win as the head coach of the Vols, who beat LSU 73-63 at Food City Center.
"I thank God for the opportunity," he said. "When I got here, people told me I was coming here to retire. I wanted to coach basketball. I love coaching. I've got a great staff, I love what we have going here."
Barnes is now up to 854 total wins across his 39-year career. He is the ninth coach to win 250 games or more with two Division I schools and joins active coaches Dana Altman (Oregon) and Kelvin Sampson (Houston) in that feat. Barnes amassed 402 wins at Texas before coming to Tennessee in 2015.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementHe also was the head coach at George Mason, Providence and Clemson.
"What I didn't know growing up three hours from here was the love of Tennessee basketball," the Hickory, North Carolina native said. "I'm blessed. I really believe God brought me here for a reason. I'm thankful for it. It's hard to believe it's been 11 years."
Wynton Jackson covers high school sports for Knox News. Email: [email protected]
Support strong local journalism and unlock premium perks: knoxnews.com/subscribe
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: What Rick Barnes said about getting 250th win with Tennessee basketball
AdvertisementAdvertisement
