PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Clemson head coach Brad Brownell went into more detail on the new contract extension he and athletic director Graham Neff have been working on.

Brownell confirmed they are working on a new six-year deal at his press conference at the at Amica Mutual Pavilion on Wednesday in advance of his Tigers’ first-round matchup with McNeese State in the Midwest Regional of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday.

“We are very close to ironing it out,” he said. “I have had a bunch of meetings with Graham as the regular season was coming to an end last week. He got with me and we started to have preliminary conversations.

“Things heated up over the last week or so, and it has been really good. We are close to being able to finalize something.”

The Clemson coach’s new deal still needs to be approved by Clemson University’s Board of Trustees Compensation Committee, which will meet at a later date.

Brownell was rumored to be heavily involved in Indiana’s search for a new head coach, which came to an end on Tuesday when the Hoosiers hired Darian DeVries away from West Virginia.

“Clemson has been a very special place to me and my family for 15 years. I have thoroughly enjoyed building the program,” Brownell said. “I love what Clemson stands for as a university and proud to be a part of it.

“I sent my daughters there, so we are ‘All In’, as Dabo likes to say. I am excited about where my program is. I think we have done an unbelievable job from facility improvements from all the way to success initiatives on and off the floor. I am excited to try and continue this level of success.”

This year marks the fifth time under Brownell and second consecutive season that the Tigers have advanced to the NCAA Tournament.

Clemson enters Thursday’s game with a 27-6 record, including an 18-2 mark in regular season ACC games, which earned the Tigers a No. 5 seed in the Midwest Regional. The Tigers have set new school records for wins in a season (27), ACC wins (18) and win percentage (.900) and ACC road wins (9). They finished the regular season with eight consecutive ACC wins – the previous mark of seven was set in 1966-67 and tied in 2022-23.

Clemson made the Elite Eight last season under Brownell. The Tigers defeated New Mexico, Baylor and Arizona before losing to Alabama in the West Regional Finals.

Brownell has taken three different programs to the NCAA Tournament. He previously took UNC Wilmington in 2003 and 2006, Wright State in 2007 and Clemson in 2011, 2018, 2021 and 2024. He took each school to the tournament in his first year with the program.

Now in his 15th season, Brownell has compiled a 292-195 record, which places him first all-time in Clemson coaching history with 292 victories.