Wyoming coach Steve McClain was fired Monday, days after the Cowboys ended a fourth straight season without reaching postseason play.
Wyoming finished its ninth season under McClain at 17-15, 7-9 in the Mountain West Conference. McClain leaves with a record of 157-115 – 67-63 in league play.
“We just needed a new direction for the program, a new face, so to speak, to represent our program,” athletic director Tom Burman said.
Burman, who took over as AD five months ago, said everything from poor records to poor ticket sales to academics factored into his decision.
McClain’s contract ran through the 2009-10 season. Under the terms of that deal, the university will pay McClain a lump sum of $380,000 for the remaining three years.
The move came just hours after Mountain West Conference rival Colorado State fired coach Dale Layer. The league will have at least four new coaches next season. New Mexico’s Ritchie McKay and Utah’s Ray Giacoletti have been told they will not return next season.
Burman said he hoped to hire McClain’s replacement within four weeks. He acknowledged that other vacancies could make finding a new coach more difficult.
“That definitely changes things when you have so many openings at the same time, so many regional openings and nationally as well,” he said.
New Mexico: Ryan Kersten said he will return home to Adelaide, Australia, and will not play for the Lobos next season.
Kersten just finished his sophomore season with the Lobos, averaging 5.5 points. He was second on the team in assists with 65.
“This is a decision I made some time ago and the current coaching situation had no effect on my decision,” Kersten said.
Villanova: Mike Nardi practiced just hours after a bone scan on his left ankle showed no additional damage than the sprain he suffered in the team’s regular-season finale.
Nardi also has a strained calf, but the starting point guard said nothing would keep him out of the Wildcats’ NCAA Tournament game against Kentucky on Friday night.
“I want to have an impact on this team and hopefully we can do some damage,” Nardi said.
Marshall: Ron Jirsa is out as coach after a 13-19 season. His firing comes four days after Marshall ended its season with a 92-71 loss to Memphis in the quarterfinals of the Conference USA Tournament.
Jirsa coached the team the past four seasons and had two years left on his contract. His overall record at Marshall was 43-74.
NCAA Tournament: In tonight’s play-in game, Florida A&M (21-13) faces Niagara (22-11) for a chance to take on Kansas, the top seed in the West Regional, on Friday in Chicago.
