Penn State reportedly ready to pay head coach amid NCAA Tournament run
The Penn State Nittany Lions aren't yet finished with their ongoing NCAA Tournament journey, but have a massive off-the-court issue to address as soon as possible.
According to college basketball insider Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports, Penn State "is prepared to make a significant, long-term financial commitment to" men's basketball head coach Micah Shrewsberry "as soon as the Nittany Lions conclude their season."
Jon Sauber of Centre Daily Times added that Penn State has been ready to make that commitment to Shrewsberry "for a while now" even though the sides haven't yet come to terms on an agreement:
Shrewsberry has repeatedly been mentioned as a top candidate for openings with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Georgetown Hoyas. Presumably, Penn State could financially match any offer made by either of those schools.
As noted by Seth Engle of The Daily Collegian, Shrewsberry gave a non-answer when asked about his future earlier this week.
"I don't have time to focus on anything else but just being the best version for these guys and that's all I'm focused on," he said at that time. "When the offseason comes then I can focus on other things, but I'm tunnel vision on playing this game for our guys tomorrow."
That, of course, was before Shrewsberry guided Penn State to the program's first NCAA Tournament victory since 2001 on Thursday night when the No. 10-seeded Nittany Lions beat the No. 7-seeded Texas A&M Aggies 76-59.
Penn State originally hired Shrewsberry in March 2021 after Pat Chambers resigned the previous October following an investigation into allegations of inappropriate conduct. Under Shrewsberry, the Nittany Lions accumulated an overall record of 37-30 over the past two seasons heading into Saturday's second-round tournament clash against the No. 2-seeded Texas Longhorns.
Shrewsberry's status had been a hot topic even before Rothstein's update:
One wonders what Shrewsberry's deal might look like if the Nittany Lions stun Texas and the college basketball community on Saturday evening, as he's already a popular figure among Penn State fans, players, students and alumni:
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