Missouri State men’s basketball coach Dana Ford enters Arch Madness this week widely considered to be on the hot seat following his worst finish in the Missouri Valley Conference regular season standings.

Ford has one year remaining on his contract.

The university made it known that it is noncommittal to Ford’s future after Missouri State President Clif Smart wrote in a blog post last week that the season would be evaluated once it concludes. Smart and MSU Athletics Director Kyle Moats gave Ford a vote of confidence entering Arch Madness a year ago, saying he would be back when it was reasonable to believe he could have been let go near the end of the 2022-23 season.

The Bears enter Thursday’s first-round game at Arch Madness as the nine-seed, the program’s worst finish in the league since 2008-09 in its first year under Cuonzo Martin.

The News-Leader attempted to ask Smart and Moats about the decision-making process last week in light of Smart’s upcoming retirement in June. A university athletics spokesperson declined to comment on behalf of both.

More: Missouri State noncommittal on Dana Ford’s future as Bears’ men’s basketball coach

What would Dana Ford’s buyout be?

Missouri State used different language in its “cancellation without cause by the university” section of Ford’s contract than in the past.

According to his contract, the sum of the buyout would be calculated by taking the number of months remaining on his contract and multiplying it by his monthly pay. That number would then be divided by two. To put it simply with one year left on his contract, Ford would be paid for half of those months.

With 12 months remaining on his contract with a monthly salary listed at $30,416, it appears a potential buyout would be around $182,496.

Once Proud: A look at the downfall in Missouri State men’s basketball interest

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Part 3: What’s being done to save Missouri State’s dying men’s basketball fanbase?

What if Dana Ford was to cancel his contract and leave for a different program?

In the event Ford is not fired by Missouri State and he was to pursue a different head coaching job, he would have to pay the school around $182,496.

However, if he left for an assistant job at any level, a head coaching job at a smaller division or left collegiate coaching for a year, he could leave without owing anything. It’s the same clause Missouri State had with former football coach Bobby Petrino who took a coordinator position elsewhere and he nor UNLV had to pay MSU anything.

What were the original terms of his contract?

Ford signed a five-year deal in March 2022 that paid him $375,000 in his first two years and $425,000 in years three, four and five. Until he signed an extension, the original deal was set to expire following the 2022-23 season.

When was Dana Ford’s contract extended?

Ford’s contract was extended following the 2020-21 season. He was coming off a 17-7 COVID-19-impacted campaign and had a promising roster featuring standout players like Isiaih Mosley and Gaige Prim.

At that point, the Bears had an overachieving year in his debut season, followed by a flop in year two. The third year saw MSU finish third in league play and fall in a heartbreaker to Drake in the Arch Madness semifinals.

After seven years as Missouri State’s head coach, Paul Lusk was fired in 2018 with one year remaining on his contract. The school bought him out for $370,000 using private donations. Lusk finished with a 105-121 record at Missouri State.

Wyatt D. Wheeler is a reporter and columnist with the Springfield News-Leader. You can contact him at 417-371-6987, by email at wwheeler@news-leader.com or X at @WyattWheeler_NL.