Kansas State’s messy breakup with Jerome Tang may finally be headed toward a number both sides can live with.
According to ESPN, the school and its former men’s basketball coach are close to a settlement that would pay Tang $12 million after he was fired for cause in February. Had Kansas State moved on without cause, Tang would have been owed more than $18 million.
The firing came during a rough 10-15 start to Tang’s fourth season, with the university leaning on a postgame outburst as its justification. After a 91-62 loss to Cincinnati - Kansas State’s 10th defeat in 11 games - Tang unloaded on his team and said, "these dudes do not deserve to wear this uniform."
Kansas State treated that rant as the basis for a for-cause dismissal, a move that drew criticism around the sport. Many saw the school’s legal reasoning as thin, especially given the financial motivation behind the decision to avoid a massive buyout for a coach whose team was underperforming.
Tang pushed back immediately. In a statement at the time, he said he "strongly" disagreed with Kansas State’s characterization of the firing.
"I have always acted with integrity and faithfully fulfilled my responsibilities as head coach," he said at the time.
The split closed the book on a partnership that had once looked like a major win for both sides. Tang arrived at Kansas State after nearly 20 years on staff at Baylor and delivered an Elite Eight run in 2023 in his first season. But the momentum didn’t last: the Wildcats missed the NCAA Tournament in each of the next two seasons and were sliding again when the school made its move.
Tang has since gone back to Baylor as associate head coach. Under the terms of his Kansas State contract, his Baylor earnings would have reduced what the Wildcats owed him if he had been fired with cause. Baylor hosts Kansas State on Jan. 2 this season, though the Bears do not play in Manhattan.
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