Missouri State University yesterday named Kellie Harper as the seventh head coach of the Lady Bears.
The former head women's basketball coach at North Carolina State and Western Carolina universities, Harper signed a five-year contract with MSU that includes a base salary of $145,000, plus $60,000 for radio and television shows. Her contract - also subject to performance incentives - is expected to be formally approved by the MSU Board of Governors at its May 16 meeting, according to a news release.
“It’s a fresh start for Lady Bears basketball," Harper said in the release. "The future is very bright, and we’re going to have high expectations to do something really special here.”
Harper succeeds Nyla Milleson, who was
fired last month and offered a $140,000 buyout for the remaining two years of her contract. Milleson had earned a base salary of $140,000. Harper, too, was let go from her past post, when she was dismissed last month from NC State, according to a
news release from the school's athletic program.
Harper has a nine-year record of 167-128, which includes three NCAA Tournament and four Women's National Invitation Tournament appearances. She also was a celebrated athlete, playing in three national championship clubs at the University of Tennessee for coach Pat Summitt. As a junior, she helped lead the team to a 39-0 record and the national championship, the release said.
"She was a tremendous college basketball player. She comes from a great basketball pedigree, and she is widely regarded as a great tactician," MSU Director of Athletics Kyle Moats said in the release.
During an announcement news conference yesterday afternoon, Moats also laid out a new season ticket pricing structure for the program, which has seen its ticket revenues plummet in recent years, according to
Springfield Business Journal archives. School officials have said Milleson's firing was partly due to falling ticket sales for Lady Bears basketball.
Moats said the majority of lower-level season tickets would be available for $120, down from $259, and bleacher tickets would be $80 per season. Full details of the new ticketing structure is expected to be release in the coming weeks.[[In-content Ad]]
