The Coaching Carousel for college basketball is a series where we break down contracts and candidates. You can read more about it here or dive deeper into the Chris Mack profile.
When a team opens a season more than 20 games unbeaten, the assumption is usually the same: A Power Four roster fueled by NIL money, a big revenue share, veteran transfers, and institutional advantages. That is not the case for Travis Steele and the Miami (OH) RedHawks.
Instead, Steele has quietly built one of the most compelling mid-major programs in college basketball and, in doing so, has positioned himself as a legitimate name on the coaching carousel.
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Travis Steele Contract
Originally hired in 2022, Miami rewarded Steele with a long-term extension in 2024, locking him in through May 31, 2032.
His base salary escalates over the life of the deal:
- $300,000 annually through 2026
- $400,000 annually from 2026 to 2030
- $500,000 annually from 2030 to 2032
In addition, Steele is eligible for $1 million in retention bonuses and a unique incentive structure tied not to flat-dollar amounts, but to percentages of his base salary. Performance benchmarks such as 20-win seasons, conference championships, NCAA Tournament appearances, and tournament wins trigger bonuses ranging from roughly 4.167% to 16.667% of his annual salary, allowing his compensation to scale with RedHawks success.
Yet the most revealing detail lies in the exit terms, or maybe lack thereof.
Travis Steele Buyout
If Steele leaves Miami for another job, he owes the university just $150,000 in liquidated damages, a very modest buyout by modern coaching standards. Especially for a deal signed to 2032. In an era where buyouts regularly climb into seven figures, Steele’s contract offers long-term stability on paper but minimal financial resistance in reality. In short, this is a very coach-friendly contract. If Miami fired him without cause, he’d be owed (with mitigating duty) the remainder of the deal.
For power programs evaluating coaching candidates, the barrier to hiring Steele away is strikingly low.
Before The RedHawks
Before arriving in Oxford, Steele spent four seasons as head coach at Xavier, compiling a 70-50 record and guiding the Musketeers to two postseason appearances.
But his tenure in the Big East was very complicated.
While Steele’s Xavier teams were competitive early in seasons, they developed a reputation for fading down the stretch. In his final year (2021-22), the Musketeers opened 16-5 and climbed as high as No. 17 in the national rankings, only to lose eight of their final ten games and tumble from NCAA Tournament contention to a No. 2 seed in the NIT.
Similar late-season declines appeared in previous years, as Xavier repeatedly hovered near the NCAA bubble before slipping out of the field.
The narrative around Steele at Xavier shifted from ‘ceiling’ to ‘just getting by’.
Taking Over A Dormant RedHawks Program
Steele did not inherit a rising program in Oxford. Outside of the COVID-shortened season, Miami had not posted a winning record since 2008-09. For more than a decade, the RedHawks existed largely outside the MAC’s competitive tier.
His first season reflected the challenge. Miami finished 12-20 but reached the MAC Tournament as the No. 8 seed. Year two brought measurable progress: a 15-17 record, nine conference wins, and victories over NCAA Tournament teams Vermont and Akron.
Then came the big breakthrough (and an extension).
In 2024-25, Steele led Miami to a program-record 25 wins and a 14-4 MAC record, the program’s best conference finish since 2005-06. The RedHawks earned the No. 2 seed in the MAC Tournament and reached the conference championship game for the first time in nearly two decades.
By his third season, Steele had not just rebuilt Miami, but he set a standard.
The 2025-26 season has pushed the narrative even further.
Miami is not scraping by opponents. It is overwhelming them.
The RedHawks are averaging 94.6 points per game while allowing 74.7, producing a scoring margin approaching +20 points per game. That profile is less “mid-major surprise” and more “program operating at a different level.”
Critics will point to the schedule. Miami’s average opponent NET rating sits around 232, and skepticism about the strength of schedule (or lack of Q1 wins) is inevitable.
But dominance still matters.
Steele’s team is athletic, efficient, and structurally sound, traits that tend to translate beyond conference boundaries.
Why Steele Fits The Carousel
Steele’s profile aligns with what athletic directors increasingly seek.
He has Power Conference experience. He has rebuilt a dormant program in under three years. He has demonstrated an ability to modernize offense, develop players, and win without relying solely on NIL-driven roster churn.
And perhaps most importantly, he appears to have solved the most persistent critique of his earlier career: Season sustainability.
At Xavier, Steele’s teams often surged early and faded late. At Miami, his program has moved in the opposite direction, building year-over-year momentum rather than losing it.
The Bigger Picture
Whether Coach Steele ultimately moves this offseason or not, he has positioned himself firmly in the national conversation, not as a speculative candidate, but as a proven builder with Power Conference credentials, corrected flaws, and upward momentum.
Oh, and a very affordable buyout.
And in the modern coaching carousel, that combination rarely stays hidden from power programs for long.
