Kansas State coach Frank Martin was meeting with South Carolina officials Monday and would then decide whether to accept an offer or stay with the Wildcats, Martin told ESPN.com.
Martin said in a text message that the deal is not done as has been reported.
Martin said conversations first started between his party and South Carolina on Saturday. Martin had texted Friday night that he had not spoken to South Carolina officials.
He was in New York to work for CBS' studio show. Martin was asked on air if he had spoken to South Carolina but at that point he personally had not yet.
Martin
According to a source with the direct knowledge of the situation, South Carolina is reviewing a potential $2.05 million deal to hire Martin. Martin's Kansas State contract paid him $1.45 million a year. The source said the South Carolina board is reviewing the proposal and if the framework of the deal is accepted then a formal offer will be made to Martin and he would accept. A press conference would be held later Tuesday if accepted.
The source said Kansas State athletic director John Currie hasn't countered with an offer to keep him. Martin was intrigued by joining an athletic department that has a national championship baseball team, Steve Spurrier coaching football and Dawn Staley as head coach of the women's team. Martin is also interested in possibly working for athletic director Eric Hyman and wants the challenge of getting the Gamecocks to the top of the SEC.
If Martin were to accept an offer to coach at South Carolina he would be closer to his native South Florida and recruiting ties. But he would be trading a newly established basketball school for one that has struggled to find its place in the SEC. A number of sources said Martin and the Kansas State administration have been at odds recently and that might lead him to leave.
Martin was open about his interest in the Miami opening last year but was never interviewed. He stayed and took the Wildcats to the NCAA tournament yet again while Miami was in the NIT. South Carolina finished last in the SEC under former coach Darrin Horn.
Multiple media outlets reported Monday that South Carolina and Martin had agreed to a contract less than two weeks after the Gamecocks fired Horn.
Martin, 45, is under contract with Kansas State through 2015 after signing an extension two years ago.
Martin is a native of Miami and coached high school basketball there for 15 years. He joined Northeastern University as an assistant coach in 2000 before working in the same capacity for Cincinnati and Kansas State. He was named coach of the Wildcats in 2007 and has led Kansas State to three straight NCAA tournament appearances.
Martin earned his bachelor's degree in physical education from Florida International in 1993.
Martin had made headlines Monday for another reason. Speaking during Sunday's broadcast of the NCAA tournament on CBS, he said that he regularly paid collegiate players who had played for him in high school when they had nowhere else to turn.
Working as an analyst on the telecast Sunday, Martin seemed to be making a case for better compensating collegiate players in need as he defended Kansas State senior Jamar Samuels, who was held out of the Wildcats' final game because of an eligibility concern.
"I coached 16 years in the same inner city in Miami that I grew up in. Do you know how much money I sent to kids that played for me in high school when they were in college because I knew where they came from?" Martin said, according to a transcript of the broadcast published by the Kansas City Star. "I knew they didn't have a father figure."
link: http://bleacherrepor...rolina-football
Martin said in a text message that the deal is not done as has been reported.
Martin said conversations first started between his party and South Carolina on Saturday. Martin had texted Friday night that he had not spoken to South Carolina officials.
He was in New York to work for CBS' studio show. Martin was asked on air if he had spoken to South Carolina but at that point he personally had not yet.
According to a source with the direct knowledge of the situation, South Carolina is reviewing a potential $2.05 million deal to hire Martin. Martin's Kansas State contract paid him $1.45 million a year. The source said the South Carolina board is reviewing the proposal and if the framework of the deal is accepted then a formal offer will be made to Martin and he would accept. A press conference would be held later Tuesday if accepted.
The source said Kansas State athletic director John Currie hasn't countered with an offer to keep him. Martin was intrigued by joining an athletic department that has a national championship baseball team, Steve Spurrier coaching football and Dawn Staley as head coach of the women's team. Martin is also interested in possibly working for athletic director Eric Hyman and wants the challenge of getting the Gamecocks to the top of the SEC.
If Martin were to accept an offer to coach at South Carolina he would be closer to his native South Florida and recruiting ties. But he would be trading a newly established basketball school for one that has struggled to find its place in the SEC. A number of sources said Martin and the Kansas State administration have been at odds recently and that might lead him to leave.
Martin was open about his interest in the Miami opening last year but was never interviewed. He stayed and took the Wildcats to the NCAA tournament yet again while Miami was in the NIT. South Carolina finished last in the SEC under former coach Darrin Horn.
Multiple media outlets reported Monday that South Carolina and Martin had agreed to a contract less than two weeks after the Gamecocks fired Horn.
Martin, 45, is under contract with Kansas State through 2015 after signing an extension two years ago.
Martin is a native of Miami and coached high school basketball there for 15 years. He joined Northeastern University as an assistant coach in 2000 before working in the same capacity for Cincinnati and Kansas State. He was named coach of the Wildcats in 2007 and has led Kansas State to three straight NCAA tournament appearances.
Martin earned his bachelor's degree in physical education from Florida International in 1993.
Martin had made headlines Monday for another reason. Speaking during Sunday's broadcast of the NCAA tournament on CBS, he said that he regularly paid collegiate players who had played for him in high school when they had nowhere else to turn.
Working as an analyst on the telecast Sunday, Martin seemed to be making a case for better compensating collegiate players in need as he defended Kansas State senior Jamar Samuels, who was held out of the Wildcats' final game because of an eligibility concern.
"I coached 16 years in the same inner city in Miami that I grew up in. Do you know how much money I sent to kids that played for me in high school when they were in college because I knew where they came from?" Martin said, according to a transcript of the broadcast published by the Kansas City Star. "I knew they didn't have a father figure."
link: http://bleacherrepor...rolina-football
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