Coach Yo and Ole Miss drawing closer to completing contract negotiations
OXFORD, Miss. — At Monday’s women’s basketball practice and press conference ahead of the Rebels’ trip to Italy for an exhibition tour, head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin was asked about the status of her contract negotiations with Ole Miss.
At this moment talks are still ongoing, but Coach Yo indicates a conclusion might be coming soon.
“I try to just continue to focus and do what needs to be done. But I can say that we are nearing…we’re getting close to getting it done, and I’m super excited about that.”
Coach Yo
What Coach Yo has done with the Ole Miss program has been nothing short of remarkable. The team finished 25-9 last season before falling in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament. On their remarkable run, the Rebels defeated No. 1 Stanford, 54-49.
Coach Yo has led the Rebels to back-to-back NCAA Tournaments — and the WNIT title game the year before that.
“I think everybody knows I love Oxford. This has become home for me, and I love Ole Miss. But we can’t say yes to something until the it’s all the way right. I think both parties understood that.”
Coach Yo
Back in April, 2023, The Rebel Walk spoke with Vice Chancellor for Intercollegiate Athletics Keith Carter about Coach Yo’s complete reversal of the team’s fortunes.
“When she got here, our program was really not in very good shape, and that first year she was just trying to find players to be on the team. To go from that to back-to-back NCAA Tournaments and the Sweet 16, you have to give her a lot of credit for the things she’s done, her staff has done, and course what our student-athletes have done. We couldn’t be happier for her. It just shows when you put in the hard work, and you do it the right way, you get rewarded. We are happy for the run they made this year and overall where the program is.”
Keith Carter on what Coach Yo has done for the program
The Rebels’ head coach earned a base salary of $850,000 last season, good enough for sixth-highest in the SEC, representing an increase of $100,000 from a base of $750,000 in 2022.
“It’s been healthy conversations,” Coach Yo said of the discussions. “I haven’t been involved in a lot of them, but now that we’re nearing and at the end, I’m excited, I’m optimistic about it.”
With winning and success, a program soon has other institutions looking to lure its coach away. Carter fully understands and has experienced how the process works and had this to say back in April about the prospect of other universities wanting Coach Yo to leave Oxford.
“I think any time you’ve had success it’s going to get noticed. That’s where we’ve got to make sure we show her (Coach Yo) we want her here and continuing to grow here. I think we saw it in football with Coach Kiffin. You always see it when coaches are successful. They’re going to draw interest from other places. We feel we’re doing things the right way here at Ole Miss, and we feel our programs are on the rise and Ole Miss is a great place to be.”
Keith Carter
We’ll keep you posted on when the contract is signed, sealed and delivered. Hotty Toddy!
Evelyn Van Pelt
Evelyn has covered sports for over two decades, beginning her journalism career as a sports writer for a newspaper in Austin, Texas. She attended Texas A&M and majored in English. Evelyn’s love for Ole Miss began when her daughter Katie attended the university on a volleyball scholarship. Evelyn created the Rebel Walk in 2013 and has served as publisher and managing editor since its inception.
