Before the ACC tournament, NC State men’s basketball coach Kevin Keatts found himself at the center of some hot-seat discussions. But a lot can change in a few weeks.
The Wolfpack won five games in five days in Washington, D.C., to win the ACC and swipe an auto-bid to the NCAA tournament. Now, Keatts’ team is heading back to the Elite Eight for the first time since 1986 after a 67-58 win over No. 2-seed Marquette in the Sweet 16.
It’s a safe assumption that Keatts isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, and his contract performance bonuses reinforce that. Friday night’s victory earned Keatts a $50,000 bonus — putting him at $250,000 in total bonuses this postseason — and it also automatically triggered a two-year contract extension that will raise his annual salary by $400,000.
Men's No. 11 seed N.C. State beats No. 2 seed Marquette to reach NCAA round of 8.
This gives Wolfpack coach Kevin Keatts a $50,000 bonus.
He now has:
–$250K in bonuses
–2-yr automatic contract extension, with automatic $400,000 raise, that could be worth at least $5.4M— Steve Berkowitz (@ByBerkowitz) March 30, 2024
Keatts, who is in his seventh season in Raleigh after being hired from UNC Wilmington, has made the NCAA tournament three times during his tenure, most recently last season. But prior to this year, he was still searching for his first victory in the big dance.
No. 11-seeded NC State has easily been the biggest story in the men’s tournament so far, and Keatts’ team will be moving on to face the winner of Friday night’s game between Duke and Houston in the Elite Eight, which will take place in Detroit on Sunday.
