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The NC State basketball team is the Cinderella of this year’s NCAA Tournament to this point. A team that wasn’t expected to be competing in the Big Dance just a few weeks ago is now onto the Sweet 16.
The incredible run has had a major impact on head coach Kevin Keatts, who was previously on the hot seat. Now, he’s banking boatloads in bonuses each time the Wolfpack wins.
In early March, the team sat at just 17-14 and losers of their last four regular season contests. That late-season skid all but sealed the Wolfpack’s fate as an NIT contender rather than a March Madness competitor.
Then, the unthinkable.
As a 10-seed in the ACC Tournament, NC State ripped off five consecutive wins to win the championship and book a ticket to basketball’s Big Dance. In that run were wins over North Carolina, Virginia, and Duke – all teams invited to the NCAA Tournament.
The momentum only continued over the first week of March Madness play.
As an 11-seed in the field, the Wolfpack took down higher seeded Texas Tech before surviving an overtime matchup with another potential Cinderella, Oakland.
And Kevin Keatts is cashing in!
By winning 7 games in the last 12 days, NC State head coach Kevin Keatts has earned a:
• $100K ACC tournament title bonus
• $400K raise, beginning next season
• 2-year extension through April 2030
• $25K bonus for beating Texas Tech
• $50K bonus for beating Oakland pic.twitter.com/2vn8F3OYai— Front Office Sports (@FOS) March 24, 2024
By winning not only the ACC Tournament, but also making this Sweet 16 run, he’s been able to unlock bonuses not expected earlier this month.
With each win, the pot gets larger!
Kevin Keatts was on the hot seat, but now, he’s making big bucks!
As he continues to bank those contract bonuses, it’s easy to forget that the coach was in danger of being replaced not so long ago.
This is Year 7 in Raleigh for Keatts, and prior to this most recent run, he’d seen just two NCAA Tournament appearances, both of which ended with first-round exits.
Here’s more on that once uncertain future from the News & Observer:
[Keatts’] future at N.C. State was in question, at best, and severely limited, at worst. As of Tuesday, Keatts’ seventh season as the Wolfpack’s head coach was trending toward failure…
Had the Wolfpack lost Tuesday or Wednesday or even Thursday, it would not have been surprising if [AD Boo] Corrigan decided to take the program in a different direction.
How quickly things can change! One of those recently unlocked contract incentives included a two-year extension.
It will definitely offer some perspective as Kevin Keatts and his NC State basketball team reflect come season’s end. Right now, he’s focused on continuing this miraculous run.