Mike Neighbors, who coached the University of Washington women’s basketball team to three NCAA appearances in the past four years, including a Final Four in 2016, bought his way out of his contract to return to his native Arkansas to coach the Razorbacks. The 47-year-old Neighbors must pay the Huskies $1 million under the terms of a buyout clause he signed last year.
“It’s more than a dream,” Neighbors said in a statement released by Arkansas Monday. “A lot of the time, things like this don’t live up to the expectations that you establish in your dreams. This will exceed it.”
Neighbors went 98-41 during his tenure at Washington and coached two of the greatest players in school history, Kelsey Plum and Chantel Osahor, both All-America selections. But both are graduating, along with two-year starter Katie Collier. So Neighbors is leaving as program that faces a rebuild.
At Arkansas, Jimmy Dykes resigned March 3 after a 13-17 record, including 2-14 in the highly competitive Southeastern Conference, which produced the finalists in NCAA championship game Sunday when South Carolina beat Mississippi State 67-55 (box). Dykes was 43-49 in three seasons.
Neighbors’ Washington contract paid him slightly more than $290,000 annually and was scheduled to expire after the 2022-23 season.
Get to know the next @RazorbackWBB head coach.
Microsite ⬇️https://t.co/V8bgrDmann pic.twitter.com/SR1nP51l7K
— Arkansas Razorbacks (@ArkRazorbacks) April 3, 2017
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="2231457 https://sportspressnw.wpengine.com/?p=2231457">8 Comments
not happy to see him go. Not happy to see what he was paid (too low with no flexibility?) My women’s team is starting over at the same level as my men’s team. I wish my AD the best of luck.
Booooo!
He must really like Arkansas to pay a million dollars to go there!
The opportunity to go home is rare in sports, especially as a coach. Lorenzo Romar will attest that it doesn’t always work out the way you hope it will but understandable. Best wishes to Coach Neighbors and thanks for the memories.
<-My last paycheck was $2500 for working 12 hours a week online. My sisters friend has been averaging 8k for months now and she works about 30 hours a week. I can't believe how easy it was once I tried it out. The potential with this is endless. This is what I do ……………… http://jrs-uk.com/du4
Interesting. I wonder if this throws light on why Neighbors failed to use Plum and Osahor as a foundation for sustained top-tier recruiting. He’s leaving behind an empty cupboard.
Make residual profit weekly… This can be an awesome part time job for anybody… Best thing about it is that you can work from comfort of your house and start making 100 to 2000 bucks each week … Start now and have your first check at the end of this week…Best part to whole this thing is that you can work when it’s convenient to you.If this interests you then read more info here >>>>> http://mybm.com/qk8aV
Arkansas fan here. Neighbors is divorced and has two growing children within a stone’s throw of the Arkansas campus. Seattle is a long, long way from those two children. How often has he been able to see those children with a 90-hour workweek as a college coach and being +2000 miles away? Would you give back in compensation and/or buyout to be close to those children? You sure would! That is really all you need to know right there.