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Iowa basketball coach fired after 10-22 season
By LUKE MEREDITH, AP Sports Writer
31 minutes ago
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP)—Iowa fired coach Todd Lickliter on Monday, ending a brief and disappointing tenure that included three losing seasons in a row and a parade of players leaving the once-proud program.
Athletic director Gary Barta announced the firing at a news conference in Iowa City, citing Iowa’s slumping record, lagging attendance and dwindling revenue from ticket sales and contributions.
The 54-year-old Lickliter had four years left on a seven-year contract that paid him $1.2 million a year. Barta said the Hawkeyes will pay Lickliter roughly $2.4 million for the remainder of the contract.
Lickliter was not at the news conference and not immediately available for comment.
“If you take a look at our competitive record the past three years, it has not been improving. It still continues to be below where we would expect,” Barta said. “Our attendance and season-ticket sales have continued to go down. This not something that started three years ago, but in the past three years it has continued to go down dramatically.”
Barta said there will be no timeline on hiring a new coach, though he hopes to do it quickly. Barta said Iowa’s next coach will likely have head coaching experience, but wouldn’t rule out hiring a top assistant.
“The search begins today,” Barta said. “We’re going to be looking for a person who’s a proven leader, a winner, a person who has competed for championships. Someone who’s committed to student-athletes.”
The Hawkeyes, who had just two upperclassmen play significant minutes, finished the season 10-22. In all, Lickliter was 38-58 with Iowa.
Rumors about Lickliter’s shaky job status picked up steam late last week after a 59-52 loss to Michigan in the Big Ten tournament. But his stint at Iowa was also marred by a series of player departures. The big exodus came last spring when four players transferred, and sophomore guard Anthony Tucker left last month following a pair of alcohol-related suspensions and a third for academic problems.
Lickliter spent six seasons at Butler before coming to Iowa to succeed Steve Alford, who left for New Mexico in the spring of 2007. Lickliter led the Bulldogs to a 29-7 mark and the NCAA regional semifinals in 2007 and was named the Division I Coach of the Year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches.
But Lickliter could never get the Hawkeyes moving in the right direction.
Iowa finished 13-19 in 2007-08, Lickliter’s first season, but that was expected to be a rebuilding year after Alford’s departure. Iowa improved to 15-17 in 2008-09, but key contributors Jake Kelly and Jeff Peterson and reserves Jermain Davis and David Palmer transferred following the season.
The Hawkeyes were forced to start from scratch yet again this season. Their starting lineup featured four underclassmen for most of the season—including true freshman point guard Cully Payne—and the results were predictable.
Iowa lost to the likes of Texas-San Antonio and Duquesne at home and finished just 4-14 in the Big Ten. Though the Hawkeyes seemed to be improving in the later half of the year, they finished the regular season with a 27-point loss at Wisconsin and an 88-53 drubbing at Minnesota.
Though Iowa lost more than 20 games for the first time, Lickliter’s job seemed safe until last week’s conference tournament. After the loss to Michigan, Barta issued a statement that praised the players but did not mention Lickliter.
Off the court, Lickliter had a health scare in early December. He went to the hospital because of headaches, and tests revealed the beginning of a tear in Lickliter’s carotid artery, which supplies blood to the brain. Doctors added a stent the next day, and Lickliter missed three games while recovering.
Iowa has also seen its attendance dwindle in recent years. The Hawkeyes, who routinely had near-capacity crowds during the Tom Davis era in the late 1980s and ’90s, drew just 9,550 fans per home game this season.
“It’s an amazing world I live in,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said Monday, when a reporter asked for his reaction to the firing. “I don’t know Todd that well, but I know this: he’s a quality guy, he doesn’t cheat, he does it the right way. I think, for what he had with the injuries and suspensions because of alcohol, I thought he did a hell of a job.”
AP Sports Writer Larry Lage contributed to this report from East Lansing, Mich.
Charlotte fires coach Bobby Lutz after 12 seasons
By MIKE CRANSTON, AP Sports Writer
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP)—Charlotte fired coach Bobby Lutz on Monday after his 12th year at his alma mater was marred by a late-season collapse and a costly blunder in a first-round loss in the Atlantic 10 tournament.
Chancellor Philip Dubois said in a statement that the move was in the “long-term interest of 49ers basketball and the university as a whole.” Lutz leaves as the school’s all-time winningest coach with a 218-158 mark and with four years left on his contract.
“This was an extremely difficult decision and not one that was made lightly or in haste,” athletic director Judy Rose said. “Bobby has been an important part of the 49ers family and represented our university in a most positive manner. Our expectations for our program are high and our goal is to strive to be in the upper echelon of the Atlantic 10 with an opportunity to compete in the NCAA tournament on a regular basis.”
Lutz was promoted to coach in 1998 after three years as an assistant and led the 49ers to the NCAA tournament in five of his first seven seasons. But the 49ers haven’t been back since 2005.
Lutz didn’t immediately return a message left on his cell phone, but released a statement through the school.
“It has been a privilege and pleasure to coach at UNC Charlotte, my alma mater,” Lutz said. “I have been truly blessed and will forever bleed green.”
The move would have seemed improbable barely a month ago, when the 49ers knocked off Temple and moved into sole possession of first place in the Atlantic 10. With a roster full of newcomers, Lutz had seemingly turned things around after Rose said over the summer that Lutz faced a “critical year” after going 11-20 in 2008-09.
But Charlotte soon went into a free-fall, losing seven of its last eight games to miss out on the NCAA tournament for the fifth straight year. The 49ers also failed to get a bid to the NIT on Sunday.
And Lutz’s last game will be memorable for an embarrassing gaffe.
Trailing Massachusetts by three with under a minute left in the first round of the Atlantic 10 tournament at home, the 49ers had the ball and called a timeout. But they came out of the huddle with six players and when play began they were called for a technical foul.
UMass, which entered 11-19 and the 11th seed, hit both free throws and went on to post the upset.
“You’d think a guy with three undergraduate degrees and two graduate degrees could count to five, but obviously I didn’t,” Lutz said after the game, which left Charlotte 19-12.
Lutz’s assistants were also fired on Monday, and the school said a search for a replacement would begin immediately.
“Our fans, especially the students who are dear to my heart, have been tremendous and a source of inspiration for me,” Lutz said. “They deserve the best and that is my hope for them.”
By LUKE MEREDITH, AP Sports Writer
31 minutes ago
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP)—Iowa fired coach Todd Lickliter on Monday, ending a brief and disappointing tenure that included three losing seasons in a row and a parade of players leaving the once-proud program.
Athletic director Gary Barta announced the firing at a news conference in Iowa City, citing Iowa’s slumping record, lagging attendance and dwindling revenue from ticket sales and contributions.
The 54-year-old Lickliter had four years left on a seven-year contract that paid him $1.2 million a year. Barta said the Hawkeyes will pay Lickliter roughly $2.4 million for the remainder of the contract.
Lickliter was not at the news conference and not immediately available for comment.
“If you take a look at our competitive record the past three years, it has not been improving. It still continues to be below where we would expect,” Barta said. “Our attendance and season-ticket sales have continued to go down. This not something that started three years ago, but in the past three years it has continued to go down dramatically.”
Barta said there will be no timeline on hiring a new coach, though he hopes to do it quickly. Barta said Iowa’s next coach will likely have head coaching experience, but wouldn’t rule out hiring a top assistant.
“The search begins today,” Barta said. “We’re going to be looking for a person who’s a proven leader, a winner, a person who has competed for championships. Someone who’s committed to student-athletes.”
The Hawkeyes, who had just two upperclassmen play significant minutes, finished the season 10-22. In all, Lickliter was 38-58 with Iowa.
Rumors about Lickliter’s shaky job status picked up steam late last week after a 59-52 loss to Michigan in the Big Ten tournament. But his stint at Iowa was also marred by a series of player departures. The big exodus came last spring when four players transferred, and sophomore guard Anthony Tucker left last month following a pair of alcohol-related suspensions and a third for academic problems.
Lickliter spent six seasons at Butler before coming to Iowa to succeed Steve Alford, who left for New Mexico in the spring of 2007. Lickliter led the Bulldogs to a 29-7 mark and the NCAA regional semifinals in 2007 and was named the Division I Coach of the Year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches.
But Lickliter could never get the Hawkeyes moving in the right direction.
Iowa finished 13-19 in 2007-08, Lickliter’s first season, but that was expected to be a rebuilding year after Alford’s departure. Iowa improved to 15-17 in 2008-09, but key contributors Jake Kelly and Jeff Peterson and reserves Jermain Davis and David Palmer transferred following the season.
The Hawkeyes were forced to start from scratch yet again this season. Their starting lineup featured four underclassmen for most of the season—including true freshman point guard Cully Payne—and the results were predictable.
Iowa lost to the likes of Texas-San Antonio and Duquesne at home and finished just 4-14 in the Big Ten. Though the Hawkeyes seemed to be improving in the later half of the year, they finished the regular season with a 27-point loss at Wisconsin and an 88-53 drubbing at Minnesota.
Though Iowa lost more than 20 games for the first time, Lickliter’s job seemed safe until last week’s conference tournament. After the loss to Michigan, Barta issued a statement that praised the players but did not mention Lickliter.
Off the court, Lickliter had a health scare in early December. He went to the hospital because of headaches, and tests revealed the beginning of a tear in Lickliter’s carotid artery, which supplies blood to the brain. Doctors added a stent the next day, and Lickliter missed three games while recovering.
Iowa has also seen its attendance dwindle in recent years. The Hawkeyes, who routinely had near-capacity crowds during the Tom Davis era in the late 1980s and ’90s, drew just 9,550 fans per home game this season.
“It’s an amazing world I live in,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said Monday, when a reporter asked for his reaction to the firing. “I don’t know Todd that well, but I know this: he’s a quality guy, he doesn’t cheat, he does it the right way. I think, for what he had with the injuries and suspensions because of alcohol, I thought he did a hell of a job.”
AP Sports Writer Larry Lage contributed to this report from East Lansing, Mich.
Charlotte fires coach Bobby Lutz after 12 seasons
By MIKE CRANSTON, AP Sports Writer
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP)—Charlotte fired coach Bobby Lutz on Monday after his 12th year at his alma mater was marred by a late-season collapse and a costly blunder in a first-round loss in the Atlantic 10 tournament.
Chancellor Philip Dubois said in a statement that the move was in the “long-term interest of 49ers basketball and the university as a whole.” Lutz leaves as the school’s all-time winningest coach with a 218-158 mark and with four years left on his contract.
“This was an extremely difficult decision and not one that was made lightly or in haste,” athletic director Judy Rose said. “Bobby has been an important part of the 49ers family and represented our university in a most positive manner. Our expectations for our program are high and our goal is to strive to be in the upper echelon of the Atlantic 10 with an opportunity to compete in the NCAA tournament on a regular basis.”
Lutz was promoted to coach in 1998 after three years as an assistant and led the 49ers to the NCAA tournament in five of his first seven seasons. But the 49ers haven’t been back since 2005.
Lutz didn’t immediately return a message left on his cell phone, but released a statement through the school.
“It has been a privilege and pleasure to coach at UNC Charlotte, my alma mater,” Lutz said. “I have been truly blessed and will forever bleed green.”
The move would have seemed improbable barely a month ago, when the 49ers knocked off Temple and moved into sole possession of first place in the Atlantic 10. With a roster full of newcomers, Lutz had seemingly turned things around after Rose said over the summer that Lutz faced a “critical year” after going 11-20 in 2008-09.
But Charlotte soon went into a free-fall, losing seven of its last eight games to miss out on the NCAA tournament for the fifth straight year. The 49ers also failed to get a bid to the NIT on Sunday.
And Lutz’s last game will be memorable for an embarrassing gaffe.
Trailing Massachusetts by three with under a minute left in the first round of the Atlantic 10 tournament at home, the 49ers had the ball and called a timeout. But they came out of the huddle with six players and when play began they were called for a technical foul.
UMass, which entered 11-19 and the 11th seed, hit both free throws and went on to post the upset.
“You’d think a guy with three undergraduate degrees and two graduate degrees could count to five, but obviously I didn’t,” Lutz said after the game, which left Charlotte 19-12.
Lutz’s assistants were also fired on Monday, and the school said a search for a replacement would begin immediately.
“Our fans, especially the students who are dear to my heart, have been tremendous and a source of inspiration for me,” Lutz said. “They deserve the best and that is my hope for them.”
