Kansas State has fired fourth-year coach Jerome Tang, a source told CBS Sports.
The decision was made Sunday by the school and comes less than four days after Tang’s postgame rant went viral following an embarrassing 91-62 home loss to Cincinnati.
“This was embarrassing,” Tang said Wednesday night at his press conference. “These dudes do not deserve to wear this uniform. There will be very few of them in it next year. I’m embarrassed for the university, I’m embarrassed for our fans, our student section. It is just ridiculous.”
K-State is coming off a 78-64 loss at No. 3 Houston on Saturday. Tang had the players’ names removed from the back of their jerseys for that game.
The Wildcats are 10-15 and in the midst of their second-worst season in the past 20-plus years. Kansas State ranks 101st at KenPom and is 1-11 in the Big 12. The team is headed toward a second straight sub-.500 season despite being one of the big spenders in the transfer portal the past two offseasons.
Kansas State will attempt to fire Tang for cause, according to a source. Tang has a buyout of more than $18 million, per the terms of his contract.
Tang went 71-57 in less than four seasons on the job, including a 29-39 mark in the Big 12. He was hired in 2022 and an immediate success: He guided the Wildcats to the Elite Eight with a 3-seed and finished 26-10 thanks to the dynamic duo of point guard Markquis Nowell and forward Keyontae Johnson. Nowell’s 19 assists in the Sweet 16 against Michigan State at Madison Square Garden set both an NCAA Tournament record and an optimistic tone for the Tang era, but it’s been a litany of letdowns ever since.
