FAYETTEVILLE -- Within a few hours on Friday, Kansas State Coach Jerome Tang went from being reported as the No. 1 candidate for the University of Arkansas men's basketball coaching vacancy to withdrawing his name from consideration for the Razorbacks' job.
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"Jerome Tang is staying at Kansas State," Jon Rothstein of CBS sports posted on social media a about 8 p.m.
At 1 p.m. Rothstein had posted, "Tang is now expected to be at the top of Arkansas' list to replace Eric Musselman."
Musselman resigned as the Razorbacks' coach Thursday after five seasons to take the Southern Cal job.
After Musselman was announced as USC's coach, Ole Miss Coach Chris Beard was reported by multiple national media outlets as Arkansas' likely choice.
But Beard withdrew his name from the Arkansas search shortly before 1 p.m. Friday -- during Musselman's introductory news conference in Los Angeles -- with a social media post after Rothstein reported he was staying at Ole Miss.
"Great times ahead in Oxford," Beard, who led the Rebels to a 20-12 record in his first season at Ole Miss, posted. "We are just getting started."
The Kansas City Star reported Friday night Tang "has decided to remain with the Wildcats after a few nerve-wracking hours in which he was perceived to be the top choice to take over at Arkansas."
Arkansas Athletic Director Hunter Yurachek made a strong push to hire Tang, the Star reported, and the Kansas State coach listened before deciding to stay in Manhattan, Kan.
"K-State is expected to reward his loyalty by giving him a contract extension, a raise and more money for assistant coaches," the Star reported. "The Wildcats are also prepared to boost NIL efforts for basketball."
Tang confirmed he was staying at Kansas State on Friday night on his social media account.
The post showed a rotating gallery of photos and videos of Tang celebrating with Kansas State players and fans accompanied by a song with the lyrics, "He's not done with me yet ... There's so much more."
The Manhattan Mercury reported Tang met with Arkansas officials on Friday in Phoenix.
Yurachek is in Phoenix this weekend to attend College Football Playoff committee meetings and Tang is among the many basketball coaches there for the Final Four, so he and Yurachek would have had an opportunity to meet in person.
Tang's decision to stay at Kansas State will save Arkansas what would have been a $6 million buyout if he had accepted an offer from Yurachek.
By contrast, Musselman owes Arkansas $1 million for taking the USC job with four years left on his contract to coach the Razorbacks.
University of Arkansas-Little Rock Coach Darrell Walker, 63, might be among the coaches who interview with Yurachek, given his strong ties to the Razorbacks.
Walker, named the Ohio Valley Conference Coach of the Year for leading the Trojans to a 21-13 record and share of the regular-season conference title, was an All-American guard for Arkansas and Coach Eddie Sutton in 1983. He played 10 seasons in the NBA and was an NBA head coach with Toronto and Washington.
Walker's record in six seasons at UALR is 82-99, but he also was the Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year when the Trojans went 21-10 and won a regular-season title in 2020. He had a 45-18 record in two seasons at Clark Atlanta with two NCAA Division II Tournament appearances.
Will Wade, who led McNeese State to a 30-4 record and the NCAA Tournament this season, could still be in play for Arkansas.
Wade, 41, had a 105-51 record in five seasons at LSU with three NCAA Tournament appearances before being fired for recruiting violations. McNeese State gave Wade the chance to return to coaching this season.
Tang, 57, has been Kansas State's coach for two seasons and led the Wildcats to a 45-25 record.
Kansas State advanced to the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight in 2023 and finished 26-10 in Tang's first season when he was the named Associated Press Big 12 Coach of the Year
The 2022-23 Wildcats, who lost to Florida Atlantic 79-76 in the East Regional final to fall one game short of the Final Four, featured Markquis Nowell, who previously played at UALR; Desi Sills, a Jonesboro native who played at Arkansas and Arkansas State; and Abayomi Iyiola, who played at Arkansas.
Kansas State finished 19-15 this season and lost at Iowa 91-82 in a first-round NIT game.
Before taking the Kansas State job, Tang was an assistant coach at Baylor for 19 seasons from 2003–04 through 2021-22. He was on the staff when the Bears won the 2022 national championship, including an 81-72 victory over Arkansas in an Elite Eight game in Indianapolis.