Missouri head coach Dennis Gates has received a contract extension through the 2028-29 season, the school announced Friday, amid speculation linking him to other coaching vacancies.
Gates is nearing the end of his first season in Columbia, guiding the Tigers to an NCAA tournament appearance. Missouri upset Tennessee in the quarterfinals of the SEC tournament on Friday, improving to 24-8 overall and 11-7 in SEC play. The Tigers will face Alabama in Saturday’s semifinal.
The new contract will bump Gates’ annual salary to $4 million next season, with $100,000 increases each season.
“Thank you to the Board of Curators, President Mun Choi and Desireé Reed-Francois for this opportunity to continue to lead Missouri basketball,” Gates said. “The city of Columbia is my home, my family loves it here and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. My staff has done a tremendous job of supporting my dream building on the great tradition of Mizzou. I’m proud to be a Tiger and to coach at this wonderful institution.”
Gates had been briefly linked to the Georgetown vacancy on Friday, sources told ESPN, while his alma mater, California, also opened on Thursday. He had been mentioned earlier this season as a potential candidate at Texas, although his existing buyout was already considered prohibitive by industry sources. Under his new contract, Gates’ buyout will now be north of $25 million this offseason.
Prior to taking over at Missouri last spring, Gates spent three seasons as Cleveland State‘s head coach, leading the Vikings to two Horizon League regular-season championships and an NCAA tournament appearance in 2021.
Gates, 43, also spent time as an assistant coach at Florida State, Nevada, Northern Illinois and California.