Clemson has officially approved the contract for its new women’s basketball coach.
The Clemson University Board of Trustees Compensation Committee met Tuesday afternoon to officially hire Shawn Poppie as its next women’s basketball head coach.
As TCI confirmed Tuesday morning, Poppie is leaving Chattanooga to replace Amanda Butler, who was let go earlier this month following six seasons at the helm of the Lady Tigers.
Clemson will hold a formal introduction in the near future, with details to be announced.
“We are thrilled to welcome Shawn and his family to Clemson,” Clemson athletic director Graham Neff said. “As we worked through our search process, his name kept coming up in several circles, and the on-court results speak for themselves. He’s coached and recruited at a high level, has experience in the ACC and in the upstate, and we are confident in his ability to get our program to the next level.”
Poppie and Clemson University agreed to a six-year contract running through the 2029-30 season. The value of the contract is worth $3.38 million.
“I am beyond excited to be joining the Clemson Tiger family as the next head women’s basketball coach,” Poppie said. “I am thankful to Graham Neff, Stephanie Ellison-Johnson and the Clemson University administration for making our family feel welcome. It truly has been a humbling experience getting to know why Clemson is so special – it’s the people. With the resources in place and everyone moving in synergy together, I believe we can compete in the ACC, the best women’s basketball conference in the country.”
Poppie will make $500,000 in the 2024-25 season, and then will receive an additional $25,000 in each remaining year of the contract. In his final year at Clemson, he’s expected to receive $625,000.
According to Poppie’s term sheets, which The Clemson Insider was able to obtain, Poppie also received a $435,000 signing bonus.
Should Poppie earn a No. 3 or No. 4 seed in the ACC Tournament, he’ll receive a $40,000 bonus. If he earns a No. 1 or No. 2 seed in the conference tournament, he’ll earn an additional $50,000. Anything from a No. 5 to No. 9 seed will earn him a $20,000 bonus (in 2025, 2026 and 2027 seasons only).
Should Poppie lead Clemson to an ACC Tournament championship, he will receive an additional $50,000, plus what he has already earned based on the Tigers’ ACC Tournament seeding.
Should Poppie lead Clemson to a Women’s Basketball Invitational Tournament (WBIT) championship, he’ll receive a bonus of $15,000, plus an additional $7,500 if those championships come in the 2025, 2026 and 2027 seasons. Should Clemson participate in the WBIT but not win it, he will receive a $7,500 bonus for the 2025, 2026 and 2027 seasons only.
Should Clemson make the NCAA Tournament, Poppie will receive a $30,000 bonus, and with each win in the tournament, he’ll receive an additional $15,000. Should the Tigers win the national championship, he’ll receive an additional $75,000 bonus.
In all, should Clemson win a national championship, his bonuses will add up to $180,000.
He also could receive bonuses for ACC Coach of the Year ($20,000) and National Coach of the Year ($50,000). Should his Clemson team have an APR greater than 975, he’ll receive a $25,000 bonus.
Should Poppie leave Clemson for another head coaching position as a women’s basketball coach before April 30, 2026, he will pay Clemson an amount equal to 40 percent of his total compensation due over the remaining term of the contract.
Should he leave for a head coaching position at another women’s basketball program after April 30, 2026, and before April 30, 2030, he will pay the university 20 percent of the total compensation due over the remaining term of the contract.
Poppie’s buyout is waivable in sole discretion of the university.
Should Clemson terminate Poppie without cause on or before April 30, 2026, the university will provide 100 percent of total compensation otherwise due over the remaining term of the contract, with Poppie’s requirement to mitigate.
Upon termination without cause after April 30, 2026, and before April 30, 2030, the university will provide 50 percent of total compensation otherwise due over the remaining term of the contract, with no requirement for the coach to mitigate.
Poppie, the 2023-24 Southern Conference Coach of the Year, joins the Clemson family from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga where he compiled a 48-18 record in his two seasons with the Mocs, including a 28-win season this year en route to Chattanooga’s second-consecutive Southern Conference championship.
He also spent six seasons as an assistant and associate head coach at Virginia Tech, where he helped lead the Hokies’ turnaround to a top-ten national program, and also spent time at Furman as an assistant coach.
During his time at Chattanooga, Poppie was the architect of one of the most impressive program turnarounds in the nation. The year prior to his arrival, the Mocs won just seven games. In Poppie’s first season on the sidelines, however, Chattanooga recorded a 20-win season and won the SoCon tournament. Poppie received national recognition and received the 2023 Spalding Maggie Dixon NCAA Division I Rookie Coach of the Year award.
Poppie is one of the brightest up-and-coming head coaches in the nation and will be at the helm for the 50th season of Clemson women’s basketball in 2024-25.
–Clemson Athletic Communications contributed to this story
–Photo courtesy Calvin Mattheis/USA TODAY NETWORK