STARKVILLE — Monday was a day to cross potential candidates off the list for Mississippi State University’s next men’s basketball coach.
Steve Prohm, who Murray State University officials confirmed in multiple reports was approached by the search firm on Mississippi State’s behalf, signed a contract extension that will pay him $300,000 per year to stay with the Racers through May 2016.
“This was an amazing season, and I just want to say a special thank you for everyone’s support,” Prohm said in a Murray State statement. “I’m looking forward to getting back to work with my guys and prepare for the upcoming year.”
Multiple reports stated Murray State Athletics Director Allen Ward was angered the private firm Parker Executive Search attempted to contact Prohm to gauge his interest in the Bulldogs’ job opening while the Racers were still playing in the 2012 NCAA tournament.
“I think there’s a right way to do things,” Ward said Tuesday to WPSD-TV in Paducah, Ky., “Considering we were still playing, it is what it is.”
Murray State started the season 23-0 and was the last undefeated team in Division I men’s basketball. The Racers enjoyed 13 straight weeks in the national rankings and set a program record by being ranked in the Associated Press Top 10. Its 31-2 mark tied the Ohio Valley Conference record for wins in a season, and the Racers were the only D I school that didn’t lose a road game, the first occurrence in their 87-year men’s college basketball history.
The Racers won the OVC regular-season championship and the OVC tournament title and advanced to their 15th NCAA tournament, where they earned a program-best sixth seed and defeated Colorado State in the second round before falling to Marquette in the third round.
“Coach Prohm loves Murray State, his players, and this community, and we love the fact he will remain our head coach,” Ward said in a university release. “He, and the team, made a tremendous impact on everyone this past season, and I look forward to what’s in store the next few years under his exceptional leadership.”
MSU Director of Athletics Scott Stricklin didn’t return messages from The Dispatch seeking comment about reports that said Prohm was a candidate for the Bulldogs’ opening.
Rick Stansbury announced his retirement from the MSU program two weeks ago after 14 years as head coach at the school.
Prohm’s decision to sign a new contract puts him on a list of people that includes Oral Roberts coach Scott Sutton and Kansas State coach Frank Martin who were connected to the MSU opening but never interviewed for the position.
Multiple reports Monday confirmed Martin has agreed to become the next men’s basketball coach at the University of South Carolina. Martin will replace Darrin Horn, who was fired two weeks ago after
going 60-63 in four seasons. The Gamecocks finished last in the Southeastern Conference. Martin is leaving Kansas State, which he led
to the NCAA tournament four of the past five seasons. His record as a head coach is 117-54, and he is 6-4 in NCAA tournament games.
Late Monday evening, Wisconsin Basketball Yearbook editor Mark Miller used his Twitter account to report according to sources University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee head coach Rob Jeter would be the next head coach at Mississippi State. However, minutes after Miller’s tweet, sources involved with Mississippi State’s coaching search confirmed to The Dispatch those reports were “false” and “not going to happen.”
Jeter, 42, played for and coached under Bo Ryan at UW-Platteville and the University of Wisconsin before receiving his first head coaching opportunity at UWM after Bruce Pearl left the program to become coach at the University of Tennessee.
The sources close to the Mississippi State search have repeatedly said to The Dispatch the school and the firm aren’t close to naming a new coach.
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