Missouri State administration makes it clear: 'Dana Ford is our guy'

Missouri State Athletics Director Kyle Moats wasted no time backing up men's basketball coach Dana Ford as he gave his coach a vote of confidence on Tuesday afternoon.

Moats tweeted that there is "much to be excited for now and in the future under Coach Ford's leadership" in the hours after the News-Leader published an article titled "Could this be Dana Ford's final week as the Missouri State men's basketball coach?"

As previously noted, it would have been uncharacteristic for Missouri State to make such a move at this point. He has been far more accomplished than previous coaches the university did not part from and the Bears have been in the upper half of the league throughout his career.

There had been speculation for the entirety of Ford's fifth season as head coach that it could be his last if the team didn't rise above expectations. In recent weeks, sources have told the News-Leader that coaches had expressed interest in the job if it was to become open.

In a following tweet on Tuesday afternoon, Missouri State President Clif Smart said there was no more need for speculation and that "Dana Ford is our guy."

The Bears are headed toward maintaining the direction it's in under Ford as he has two years remaining on his contract, which pays him about $425,000 annually. A buyout after this season would have been in the neighborhood of $364,992 this season and it would be around $182,496 after the next. He has not been rumored in potential head coaching jobs. It's also worth noting he had opportunities to become a high-level assistant after the 2021-22 season.

Missouri State will compete at Arch Madness starting Thursday night in an 8:30 p.m. opening-round game against 11th-seeded Illinois Chicago with the hopes of advancing to Friday's quarterfinal round against third-seeded Southern Illinois. The Bears were 16-14 in the regular season and would need to go on an unprecedented run through the conference tournament to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1999.

More:Could this be Dana Ford's final week as the Missouri State men's basketball coach?

Whenever the season concludes, questions will then shift to who remains on the roster with Ford at the helm. There is a young nucleus of players to build around with the likes of Alston Mason, Chance Moore, Damien Mayo Jr., N.J. Benson and others. With the current state of college basketball and the transfer portal, there's no telling who will return.

Another question will be how much Missouri State believes in the Bears' future under Ford. Coaches don't typically like going into seasons with minimal time left on their contract for both personal and recruiting reasons. Whatever the Bears do this offseason will give you a good idea of what the pressures of next season might be.

Either way, there will be pressure to win and try to reignite a fanbase that hit a low this season. While it hasn't been entirely Ford's fault, a team contending for a championship will need to do its part.

Wyatt D. Wheeler is a reporter and columnist with the Springfield News-Leader. You can contact him at 417-371-6987, by email at wwheeler@news-leader.com or Twitter at @WyattWheeler_NL. He's also the co-host of Sports Talk on Jock Radio weekdays from 4-6 p.m.