Kansas State fired Jerome Tang for cause Sunday night, four days after his viral postgame rant against his own players and with nearly $19 million on the line.
The Wildcats dismissed their fourth-year coach following a 78-64 loss at No. 3 Houston on Saturday, a game the team played without names on the back of their jerseys. Kansas State sits at 10-15 overall and 1-11 in Big 12 play, tied for last place in the conference.
Jerome Tang’s Rant That Ended His Tenure
The firing stems from Tang’s explosive comments after a 91-62 home loss to Cincinnati on Wednesday. In a two-minute press conference, Tang unloaded on his roster.
“These dudes do not deserve to wear this uniform,” Tang told reporters. “There will be very few of them in it next year. I’m embarrassed for the university, I’m embarrassed for our fans, and our student section. It’s just ridiculous.”
When asked about fans in the student section who wore paper bags over their heads during the blowout, Tang didn’t back down.
“I’d wear a paper bag, too, if I was them,” he said before walking out.
Kansas State is citing contract language that prohibits activity bringing “public disrepute, embarrassment, ridicule” to the university as its basis for the for-cause termination. If the designation holds, the school would avoid paying Tang the $18.675 million remaining on his contract, which runs through April 2030.
Kansas State coach Jerome Tang following the Bearcats 92-61 victory on Wednesday night:
“This was embarrassing. These dudes do not deserve to wear this uniform. There will be very few of them in it next year. It is just, ridiculous.”pic.twitter.com/JNBk9ETrAb
— Chatterbox Sports (@CBoxSports) February 12, 2026
Tang signed a seven-year extension in September 2023 after his Elite Eight run. The following spring, Arkansas reportedly showed interest in hiring him away, and Kansas State reworked his contract in April 2024 to retain him.
Athletic director Gene Taylor addressed the decision in a statement Sunday evening.
“This was a decision that was made in the best interest of our university and men’s basketball program,” Taylor said. “Recent public comments and conduct, in addition to the program’s overall direction, have not aligned with K-State’s standards for supporting student-athletes and representing the university.”
K-State AD Gene Taylor shares more on the thought process & timing behind firing Jerome Tang with cause:
“Basically his comments about the student athletes and the negative reaction to those comments…Last couple years haven’t gone where I thought we should’ve been going.” pic.twitter.com/WeVKqo5RlT
— Matt Foster (@MattFosterTV) February 16, 2026
Tang told ESPN he plans to contest the firing.
“I am deeply disappointed with the university’s decision and strongly disagree with the characterization of my termination,” Tang said in a statement. “I have always acted with integrity and faithfully fulfilled my responsibilities as head coach.”
Associate head coach Matthew Driscoll, who joined Tang’s staff last May after 16 years as North Florida’s head coach, will serve as interim coach for the final six games. Driscoll and Tang go back more than two decades, having worked together on Drew’s staff at Baylor from 2003 to 2009.
A national search for Tang’s permanent replacement begins immediately.
Jerome Tang’s $18.675 Million Buyout Battle
The legal battle over that $18.675 million figures to be contentious. For-cause terminations rarely stick without clear violations, and Tang’s postgame comments, while harsh, fall into murky territory. Coaches criticize players publicly. It happens. Whether saying players “don’t deserve to wear this uniform” constitutes a breach of contract is a question lawyers will spend months untangling.
For now, Kansas State has six games left and a program to rebuild. The roster Tang assembled, the one he publicly called out, will play out the string under a new voice. The Wildcats host Baylor on Tuesday, the program where Tang spent nearly two decades before this job that started so well and ended so badly.
Kansas State’s Fall From the Elite Eight
The collapse has been swift. Tang arrived in Manhattan in 2022 after 19 seasons as an assistant under Scott Drew at Baylor, including the Bears’ 2021 national championship run. His first Kansas State team went 26-10 and reached the Elite Eight before losing to eventual champion Florida Atlantic. He was the consensus Big 12 Coach of the Year and won the Naismith National Coach of the Year award. The future looked limitless.
Since then, the Wildcats have gone 45-47. They missed the NCAA Tournament last year at 16-17 and are on pace for consecutive losing seasons for the first time since the early 2000s. The 1-11 conference start is one of the four worst in school history.
The Cincinnati loss was the tipping point. The Bearcats shot 57% in the first half and led 53-31 at the break. They made 16 three-pointers, the second-most ever against Kansas State. It was the Wildcats’ third straight home loss by at least 24 points.