Contract details released for Mike Rhoades at Penn State

NS_headshot_clearbackgroundby:Nick Schultz•03/29/23•

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Penn State made it official Wednesday when it announced VCU coach Mike Rhoades as its new men’s basketball coach. The university has also released the details of his contract.

Rhoades signed a seven-year contract worth $3.4 million per year to start, according to the university. Each year, he’ll receive a $100,000 raise, taking him up to $4 million per year by the final year of the deal.

In addition, Rhoades’ buyout is $15 million for his first year and will drop by $3 million each year. After the fifth season — in which the buyout is $3 million — it will decrease to $1.5 million before becoming $0 after the contract runs out in 2030.

As far as incentives go, Rhoades could make up to $1.075 million in bonus. That includes $150,000 if he leads Penn State to at least a share of the Big Ten championship and $50,000 if he wins Big Ten Coach of the Year. In addition, an NCAA Tournament appearance would earn him $100,000 and he’d secure $75,000 for each win in the big dance.

Rhoades led VCU to an A-10 championship this year and a March Madness appearance after winning the conference tournament. The Rams finished the season 27-8 overall and 15-3 record in conference play before their season came to an end against Saint Mary’s in the NCAA Tournament.

Now, he’s gearing up to take over for Micah Shrewsberry, who left to become the new head coach at Notre Dame. Shrewsberry just wrapped up his second season with Penn State and turned the Nittany Lions around in a big way, leading them to a 23-14 overall record and a 10-10 mark in Big Ten play to reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2011. Their season came to an end in the second round against Texas.

After news of his hire became official, Rhoades released a statement about the decision.

“It’s with great honor and excitement to be Penn State’s Peter and Ann Tombros endowed men’s basketball head coach,” Rhoades said. “I would like to thank Dr. Bendapudi, Pat Kraft, and Michael Wade Smith for their faith in me and the opportunity to lead this great program. We will be bold, different, and aggressive moving our program forward. We will play with great energy and excitement while always being relentless in our pursuit of making this basketball family into something special. I can’t wait to get to work.”