UConn has fired its head coach Kevin Ollie, the team announced Saturday. The decision was made as the ongoing NCAA investigation continues to loom over the team. “The University of Connecticut has initiated disciplinary procedures to terminate the employment of Head Men’s Basketball Coach Kevin Ollie for just cause,” the school said in a release, perZagsBlog. “The University will have no further comment on the matter until the completion of both the University’s disciplinary process and the ongoing NCAA investigation.”
NBC Connecticutreports that UConn began conducting an internal investigation at the end of January. However, the school never revealed what it was actually looking into. It is believed that the investigation could be related to recruiting.
The firing of Ollie ends his once promising tenure with the Huskies, which lasted just six seasons. In 2012, Ollie replaced legendary coach Jim Calhoun after two seasons of serving as an assistant coach for the school. In just his second season as head coach, the seventh-seeded Huskies made a magical run in the NCAA Tournament and won the national champion for the first time in 15 years.
Since then, Ollie has never been able to conjure up that same type of magic again. His demise as the UConn head coach was punctuated by the last two seasons in which the team finished with a combined 20-35 record, and no tournament appearances. "It is unfortunate that this decision became necessary," Director of Athletics David Benedict wrote in a statement. "As with all of our programs, we hold men’s basketball to the highest standards. We will begin a national search immediately to identify our next head coach."
