COLUMBIA, MO. • Cuonzo Martin got a standing ovation from hundreds of fans gathered at Mizzou Arena for his introduction as Missouri’s new men’s basketball coach on Monday, the culmination of a quick hiring process that zeroed in on the 45-year-old coach from the start.
Missouri was the first power conference school to hire a new coach during the current hiring cycle and Martin was the only coach Mizzou seriously considered. On Monday, shortly before Martin’s formal introduction, where he said he grew up admiring Mizzou coaching legend Norm Stewart, the UM Board of Curators unanimously approved Martin’s seven-year contract that will pay him an average guaranteed salary of $3 million per year.