Kansas State coach Jerome Tang staying with Wildcats despite interest from Arkansas

Jerome Tang isn’t going anywhere.

The Kansas State men’s basketball coach has decided to remain with the Wildcats after a few nerve-wracking hours in which he was perceived to be the top choice to take over at Arkansas.

The Razorbacks made a strong push to hire Tang away from Manhattan on Friday. He listened. But he ultimately opted to stay at the only college where he has served as a head coach. K-State is expected to reward his loyalty by giving him a contract extension, a raise and more money for assistant coaches. The Wildcats are also prepared to boost NIL efforts for basketball.

Tang confirmed that he was staying at K-State on Friday night via social media.

His decision to stay in the Big 12 and turn down the SEC came as a major relief for many close to Tang and the entire K-State fan base. Tang led the Wildcats to a pair of winning seasons while he was in Manhattan, first guiding them to 26 victories and a trip to the Elite Eight last year and then 19 wins and an NIT appearance this year. Then he hit the recruiting trail hard to try and add impact transfers for Year 3.

As recently as one day ago, when K-State announced the signing of Michigan transfer Dug McDaniel, it appeared that Tang was fully committed to a long future with the Wildcats. But that idea was thrown into question when it was reported that Mississippi coach Chris Beard and Tang were the top two candidates to replace Eric Musselman at Arkansas.

Then things really heated up when Beard withdrew from the search and announced he was staying at Ole Miss. That left Tang as the clear choice at Arkansas, and many thought he might accept the job.

What made him stay? For now, it is hard to say. But K-State clearly made it hard on him to leave as negotiations heated up on Friday.

Arkansas is considered a higher-profile job than K-State, given that the Razorbacks won a national championship in 1994 and have a strong history of advancing deep into the NCAA Tournament. Arkansas is also closer to Tang’s favorite recruiting territories of Louisiana and Texas. Furthermore, the Razorbacks are also capable of paying more because of their conference affiliation.

Tang was set to make $3.1 million in salary next season. His buyout was $6 million. Former Arkansas coach Eric Musselman, who recently left for USC, was making $4.2 million with the Razorbacks.

But K-State was motivated to sweeten Tang’s deal and presented him with enough reasons for him to stay right where he is. It will be interesting to see the numbers on his new deal.

Perhaps loyalty played a factor.

K-State gave Tang his first shot as a college head coach two years ago when Taylor hired him away from Baylor, where he worked for more than 20 years as an assistant under Scott Drew.

He hit the ground running at K-State and quickly built a winner by surrounding returning players Markquis Nowell and Ismael Massoud with impact transfers like Keyontae Johnson, Desi Sills and Nae’Qwan Tomlin.

Tang breathed new excitement into the program right away and large crowds returned to Bramlage Coliseum after a few lean years at the end of the Bruce Weber era. K-State won 26 games in Tang’s rookie season and fell just short of the Final Four.

That earned him a contract extension aimed to keep him at K-State until 2030.

K-State was unable to duplicate that kind of success this past season and the Wildcats fell short of the NCAA Tournament. But they still found a way to win 19 games and reach the NIT. Seven of their victories incredibly came in overtime, a sign that Tang had a real knack for winning close games.

Fans have been hoping for a return to the NCAA Tournament with Tang and new players next season. Tang can now continue building toward that vision as he remains committed to the Wildcats.