Dennis Gates, expected to become Missouri Tigers basketball coach, arrives in Columbia
Dennis Gates, the Missouri Tigers’ next men’s basketball coach, arrived Monday morning in Columbia.
Gates stepped off a plane at Columbia Regional Airport and was greeted by Mizzou staffers. There was a University of Missouri Board of Curators meeting at 7 a.m. Tuesday in which the board entered closed executive session and approved his contract. He’ll be introduced in a news conference at noon Tuesday.
On Saturday, multiple reports said Mizzou had landed on Gates as its choice to replace Cuonzo Martin, who was fired on March 11 after five seasons as the Tigers’ coach.
At Cleveland State, Gates, 42, has compiled a 50-40 record, including a 38-22 mark in conference. He turned the program around with consecutive Horizon League regular season titles and a 2021 NCAA Tournament berth. This past season, the Vikings finished 20-11 and lost to Xavier in the first round of the NIT.
The Cleveland State job was Gates’ first as a head coach after eight seasons as an assistant under Leonard Hamilton at Florida State. Gates’ salary is $550,000 annually with a buyout of $600,000.
This story was originally published March 21, 2022 at 9:36 AM.
