Bates was the 1996 Most Outstanding Academic Player, and was named the 1996 Fred Koss Memorial Award winner.
[2] Bates began his coaching career as an administrative assistant at Illinois in 1997 under Lon Kruger.
[1] On March 28, 2020, Bates was promoted to head coach at Western Michigan, replacing his former boss Steve Hawkins.
Bates' salary increases from $110,000 to $120,000 per year, with an additional $100,000 for multimedia rights and speaking opportunities.
[5] Shortly after he was hired, the top two scorers at Western Michigan, Michael Flowers and Brandon Johnson, decided to transfer.