Missouri
What would Dana Ford’s buyout be if Missouri State basketball made a move this week?
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
Part 1: Missouri State basketball games are emptier than ever. What happened, and what’s next?
Part 2: Here’s how Missouri State’s rivals are filling the bleachers at basketball games
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.
Let’s talk drama.
Transfer portal drama, specifically. The kind inspired by last week’s Texas Tech-Florida softball series, which comfortably could have aired on Bravo.
For those who missed out on the fun, former Florida second baseman and current Texas Tech star Mia Williams — the daughter of former Gators point guard “White Chocolate” Jason Williams — was hit by five pitches over the course of the series by her former team.
Florida’s coach was ejected during the fiery Super Regional. The Gators’ players declined a handshake line after the Red Raiders clinched the series and a Women’s College World Series berth behind two Mia Williams home runs in the finale. Jason Williams was spotted Gator-chomping in the direction of the Florida dugout after a home run, and a UF fan was ejected after a reported altercation between Jason Williams and Mia Williams’ sister.
Woah!
College football has some potential for high-octane reunions. Our undivided attention on Sept. 19, for instance, will be on Lane Kiffin’s return to Oxford, Mississippi, with LSU.
Let’s turn local: Does the opportunity for some not-so-amicable reunions exist with Missouri football this year?
Probably not to the degree of any of the examples listed above, but there are multiple former Mizzou players on the Tigers’ schedule this season. Missouri also has several projected starters set to face their former teams, too.
Here are the former Missouri football players who the Tigers will see on the opposing sideline this upcoming fall, and the current Mizzou players who are going to face their former teams:
Which former players will Missouri football face this upcoming fall?
Marquis Johnson, WR, Mississippi State: Johnson is expected to be a starting wide receiver for the Bulldogs’ when Mizzou visits Starkville. The wideout, who flashed as a deep-ball threat as a freshman, spent three seasons with the Tigers but never managed to top his rookie-year receiving production. He lost his starting job midseason last year.
Kewan Lacy, RB, Ole Miss: Lacy spent the 2024 season with Missouri and has since emerged as one of the better running backs in the college game, rushing for 1,567 yards and 24 touchdowns for the Rebels last season. This has been a little bit of a ‘Sliding Doors’ moment, because Mizzou signed Ahmad Hardy two days after Lacy went into the portal.
That’s worked out just fine for both teams, we’d say. If Hardy can make a storybook comeback this year, which this matchup pits two of the best tailbacks in the college game next season.
Horatio Fields, WR, Ole Miss: Fields technically was a Missouri player for a moment, although it may be the shortest stint in program history. He officially signed with Mizzou from Auburn on Jan. 8 but was back in the portal, after MU added multiple more transfer wide receivers, a little more than two weeks later.
Brandon Solis, OT, Kansas: Yes, there was a transfer across Border War lines in football, as well as basketball, this offseason. Solis did not play for Mizzou over three seasons in Columbia and appears likely to be a backup offensive tackle for the Jayhawks.
Courtney Crutchfield, WR, Arkansas: Crutchfield spent one season with Mizzou in 2024 and caught one pass for 26 yards last season with the Razorbacks. He is projected as a backup for Arkansas next season.
Mark Manfred III, CB, Kentucky: Manfred was a three-star freshman last season, entering the transfer portal and joining the new Kentucky staff in December.
Which current Mizzou players take on their former teams?
QB Austin Simmons, WR Cayden Lee and CB Chris Graves Jr. vs. Ole Miss: Three of Mizzou’s most-important offseason transfer additions will return Oct. 17 to Oxford and will almost certainly have a major say in whether or not the Tigers can stage a midseason road upset.
These parting of ways appear to have been quite harmonious. Ole Miss, for what it’s worth, does have a more notable defector from this past year currently residing in Baton Rouge.
Cayden Green, OT, Oklahoma: Green’s December 2023 transfer to Mizzou from OU upset the Sooners fanbase at the time, and the left tackle has previously spoken about leaving social media because of the backlash. But, the move is yet to boil over on the field, so Green’s last outing against the Sooners should be mostly drama free.
Luke Work, Zach Owens, OLs, Mississippi State: There is a chance that two of Mizzou’s starting offensive linemen when the Tigers play Sept. 26 in Starkville are former Bulldogs. Owens is competing for Mizzou’s starting spot at left tackle, and an injury to Josh Atkins means Work is a candidate to play at right tackle.
Darris Smith, DE, Georgia: Smith spent two seasons with Georgia out of high school before transferring to Columbia. He is expected to be Missouri’s top pass rusher this season, as the Tigers try to replace the massive production of Zion Young and Damon Wilson II.
Nick Evers, QB, Oklahoma: Evers, who will compete with Matt Zollers for Mizzou’s backup QB position behind Simmons, started his college career as a four-star prospect in 2022.
Naeshaun Montgomery, WR, Florida: Montgomery will compete for a rotational role in Mizzou’s wide receiver room this fall. He isn’t likely to start ahead of Donovan Olugbode or Caleb Goodie on the outside, but he could see the field against the Gators, where he spent his true freshman season and caught three passes.
Missouri
Robbie O’Connor, Carmelo Musacchia power Northeastern past Missouri State at Lawrence Regional | Whole Hog Sports
An awareness walk took place in Columbia Saturday that brings attention to a genetic disorder.
The eighth annual Missouri Walk of Neurofibromatosis took place on May 30 at Stephens Lake Park.
The event helps raise money and awareness for people who have the genetic disorder neurofibromatosis (NF).
There are three types of NF: neurofibromatosis type one (NF1), neurofibromatosis type two-related schwannomatosis (NF2-SWN), and schwannomatosis.
While the three types of NF are genetically distinct, they share the common feature of causing tumors.
The severity of symptoms and the specific manifestations of the disorders can vary significantly from person to person.
NF1 is the most common of the conditions, affecting approximately one in 2,500.
NF2 affects around one in 25,000 and other schwannomatosis types affect around one in 40,000.
Together, the disorders affect at least 1 in 2,000 people or approximately four million worldwide.
Anyone can be born with an NF disorder, and they have a 50% chance of passing it on.
For Christina Thomas, an organizer for Missouri Walk of Neurofibromatosis, the walk means “the world” to her.
“I’ve always been about advocating for NF and bringing people together,” Thomas said. “It’s awesome to see so many people coming together who have it.”
Thomas is the third generation in her family to have NF, and three of her four kids also have the condition.
“I grew up thinking my family was the only one with it. To me, it’s very important to be able to let people know that they’re not the only ones with it.”
Thomas said she was often teased when she was younger because her father, who also has NF, had tumors all over his body.
“I was always made fun of because of his appearance. People tell me, ‘You don’t want to get close to her she’s contagious.’”
Thomas said she joined the walk because she wants to bring people together who have NF and let them know they are not alone.
Another of her goals is to get the attention from the University of Missouri.
“Our ultimate goal is to get the attention of the University of Missouri, because not for me, not for my kids, but maybe for my grandkids or the ones that are nearly diagnosed, for us to have an NF clinic here instead of having to travel to Kansas City or St. Louis for expert care.”
She said the best way for the community to support those living with NF is through education and awareness.
“We’re always about advocating. We’re always about bringing awareness.”
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