'Let's Stay Together': Miami (OH) Coach Travis Steele Says Tampering Wasn’t Going To Disrupt RedHawks’ Season

Miami (OH)'s Travis Steele doesn’t have an agent to handle the business side of his job as the head coach of one of the hottest teams in college basketball.

Luckily, his wife handles that part of his life — which certainly helps keep his income from Miami (OH) within the family. That doesn’t mean he hasn’t received plenty of phone calls since January from prominent agents around the country looking to sign him.

It’s almost identical to what his players have dealt with over the past few months, as opposing arenas across the MAC filled with fans hoping to witness the RedHawks suffer their first loss of the season. But, we'll get to the potential wedge that could've ruined the season. 

Welcome to the life of a college basketball team that finished the regular season 31–0 and will be playing just an hour from campus on Wednesday night against NC State in the NCAA Tournament's ‘First Four’. 

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To say the journey has been wild for Travis Steele and this team would be an understatement, though they are certainly not taking a moment for granted on this roller-coaster of a ride. 

And yes, that first loss of the season finally came last week, when Miami fell to UMass in the MAC Tournament in Cleveland. But for the first time since Christmas break, the RedHawks finally had a few days to recalibrate and catch their breath. 

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Over the past four months — and especially the last 30 days — Miami (OH) has been the "Super Bowl" for plenty of MAC teams that also threw in a few ‘free beer nights’ to entice fans, as Travis Steele pointed out to Dan Dakich on Monday. 

Sure, there were some detractors after the loss last week. But the majority of college basketball fans were united in debating whether Miami should be dancing this week. Heck, even Bruce Pearl finally came around after doing a Texas two-step at first. 

For Travis Steele, the answer was never in doubt.

"I thought we were in. You win 31 games in the regular season…You can't keep us out of the tournament," Steele mentioned. "I didn’t know where we would be — Dayton, Tampa, or Greenville. But I told our guys I don't really give a rat's ass where we are. As long as we have a seat at the table, then we can control our own destiny.

"I'm just thrilled for our guys to be able to experience the NCAA Tournament. Now we’ve got to fully take advantage of this opportunity."

But even in the midst of their run toward March Madness — with all the attention and punches that came with it — staying together as a unit was the most important part of the roller-coaster ride.

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While the run can be overwhelming and sometimes distracting, keeping a group of players focused during a historic season often starts with the head coach.

And with the success Miami (OH) earned this season, temptation is lurking everywhere in this era of college athletics. 

The lure of playing for a "blue blood" program or cashing in on a more lucrative NIL deal can easily become a distraction that derails a season.

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Travis Steele will be the first to tell you that agents have been poking around, gauging interest from both players on his roster and even the head coach himself. There’s a method to the madness, but much of the tampering happens through indirect channels in today’s world.

"It’s like the elephant in the room," Steele said. "In January, all these agents started hitting me up saying, ‘Hey, you need to sign me.’ I don’t have an agent — my wife is my agent, and she gets 100 percent commission."" Travis Steele mentioned. 

So, in order to stick together and not waste this opportunity, Steele said he made a pact with his players once the calls started coming.

"I told our guys, if I'm getting hit up, I know you're getting hit up," he explained. "With success, guys are going to try to pull us apart. I made a pact with them then — let’s just deal with it in the offseason. Let’s stay true to the journey. Let’s stay together and not let anything get between us and this ride."

Miami (OH) Embraced The Ride, Even With Tampering And 'Sh-tty' Business Of College Athletics Circling Team (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)

For the sake of finishing this season as a unit, his team has held up its end of the bargain.

But Steele isn’t naïve about what’s happening behind the scenes.

"Our guys have done that, but I'm not naïve enough to think it's not happening. I know people are tampering. It's just part of the business.

"They don’t necessarily call your guy directly. What they’ll do is have somebody reach out — an AAU coach, a mentor, or an agent — to try to pry a kid into the portal. They’ll say something like, ‘Hey, XYZ university said they’ll give you $300,000 if you enter the portal.’ That type of stuff clouds these kids’ minds. It’s difficult to deal with. It’s definitely happening, and it’s rampant in our business."

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Oh, it's not just the players who are dealing with the phone calls, or late-night text messages. 

Being the head coach at Miami (OH) during this historic run means Steele, or his wife/agent, have likely fielded their fair share of inquiries as well.

If you’re wondering how some coaching jobs in college athletics are filled, the process often begins long before a position is officially open.

Don't take my word for it, the Miami (OH) head coach has already dealt with it. But, as he mentioned, the coaches have nobody to blame but themselves. 

"It's a shitty part of the business, it's ugly. It's like all these ADs. They start reaching out before the jobs even open," Steele explained to Dan Dakich. "It's like, what's going on, the job's not open. It's so bizarre. But, you know who created it? We created it. The coaches and administrators, we created this beast, and it's an embarrassment. It shouldn't be that way, 

"Like, if I found out somebody was tampering, and knew, and I had direct evidence, there would be a problem. That's not fair, we don't do that to anybody else, and I would never want that done to us either. That's complete bullshit. But, I'm not naive enough to know it's not happening. 

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How the story ends remains to be seen.

But there will certainly be plenty of stories to tell when it finally does — whether that’s Wednesday night, Friday night, or perhaps even Easter weekend at the Final Four.