Missouri could have its new men's basketball coach today.
Or not.
Missouri athletic director Mike Alden visited Tuesday in Orlando, Fla., with Matt Painter while the Purdue coach was on a family vacation.
Alden, along with other Missouri officials, arrived back in Mid-Missouri at Jefferson City Memorial Airport late Tuesday afternoon without Painter. No one in Missouri's traveling party made a statement before leaving the airport.
Published reports said Alden made a contract offer to Painter, but wanted a decision by noon today. Also Tuesday, Purdue reportedly upped its contract offer to between $2-2.3 million per season. Last April, Painter agreed to a contract extension through the 2016-17 season for $1.3 million, with a potential to earn up to as much as an additional $1 million in incentives.
"Matt Painter is our men's basketball coach and we want him to continue his leadership of the program," Purdue assistant athletic director Tom Schott said in statement Tuesday reported by the Indianapolis Star.
"(Monday) night, the board of trustees, president (France) Cordova and (athletic director) Morgan Burke clearly demonstrated Purdue University's commitment to (Painter) and to our men's basketball program. We were proactive, and although we will not go into details at this time, we encourage Matt to stay through our words and action."
Painter, 40, is 130-61 in six seasons with Purdue and has led the Boilermakers to five straight NCAA Tournament appearances. He was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year this season after leading Purdue to a second-place finish in the conference.
Purdue students urging Painter to return held a rally Tuesday on the campus. About 400 joined the Facebook event, but just 11 showed up at the rally.