Arizona State parting ways with longtime men’s basketball head coach

Arizona State is parting ways with longtime men’s basketball head coach Bobby Hurley, athletics director Graham Rossini announced on Wednesday, March 11.

‘Bobby Hurley has made incredible contributions to the sport of basketball, and that certainly includes many memorable moments during his time as our head coach,’ Rossini said in a statement. ‘While we will not be extending his contract, we are so grateful for the 11 years that Coach, Leslie, Cameron, Sydney, Bobby Jr., and he spent with us at ASU.

‘We wish Coach well moving forward and we are thankful for his leadership while at ASU.’

According to multiple reports, Hurley is expected to be placed on administrative leave until his contract expires in June. He leaves as the second-winningest coach in program history behind only Ned Wulk with a 185-167 record in 11 seasons.

The announcement comes just hours after the Sun Devils were eliminated from the Big 12 tournament in a 91-42 blowout loss to No. 7 Iowa State.

Arizona State had a promising start to the season after finishing runner-up at the Maui Invitational and losing a closely contested game against Gonzaga. They couldn’t find consistency from then on, however.

That was evident in January, where a pair of crucial conference wins at home against Kansas State and Cincinnati sandwiched a stretch of key losses to Houston, West Virginia and Arizona, none of which was particularly close.

The Sun Devils finished the season with a 17-15 record and entered the Big 12 tournament as the last place seed.

‘I don’t have any regrets,’ Hurley told reporters after the game. ‘I laid it out on the line the best I could every night.’