Kansas State Finalizing Settlement With Jerome Tang After Firing, Report

MANHATTAN — Kansas State and former men's basketball coach Jerome Tang are finalizing a settlement after his midseason firing, in which the university cited cause, according to a national report.

ESPN's Pete Thamel said Thursday, Oct. 1, that K-State and Tang are finalizing an agreement that will pay Tang $12 million through the end of 2027.

In the end, the settlement would have saved Kansas State nearly $7 million if it had fired Tang without cause. The coach would have been owed a record $18.675 million without cause.

Tang never filed a suit, but a settlement seemed inevitable after the coach hired lawyers shortly after being fired on Feb. 15 and the university kept saying the dispute was with its lawyers.

Tang is now the associate head coach at Baylor.

Tang was fired by Kansas State for cause midseason after his now-infamous postgame press conference following a loss to Cincinnati on Feb. 11. In the press conference, he described his players' efforts as "embarrassing" and continued, "These dudes do not deserve to wear this uniform, and there will be very few of them in it next year."

After he was fired four days later, Tang lawyered up to challenge the characterization of his termination in pursuit of his record buyout.

Tang returned to Baylor on April 28, becoming the school's top assistant. He helped the Bears win a national championship in 2021. He was on Scott Drew's staff from 2003-22.

Tang spoke on a Baylor-produced podcast that was released on Sept. 10.

"We didn't win enough," Tang said. "That's the nature of the business, and they went in a different direction, but it didn't surprise God."

Tang was 71-57 as Kansas State's head coach. The Wildcats were 10-15 overall and 1-11 in Big 12 play when he was fired in mid-February.

The Wildcats have since hired former Belmont coach Casey Alexander and will enter the 2026-27 season with only one returning player. They tip off the season at home against South Dakota State on Nov. 3.

Wyatt D. Wheeler covers Kansas State athletics for the USA TODAY Network and Topeka Capital-Journal. You can follow him on X at @WyattWheeler_, contact him at 417-371-6987 or email him at wwheeler@usatodayco.com

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas State finalizing settlement with Jerome Tang after firing, report