Wednesday, March 11, 2009

BREAKING NEWS: BU head coach Dennis Wolff fired

In a statement made by the Boston University Athletics Department today, Director of Athletics Mike Lynch announced that men's basketball coach Dennis Wolff has been fired.

The 15-year coach of the Terriers had signed a 10-year contract extension in 2003, which meant that he would have been under contract through the 2013-2014 season.

"We greatly appreciate the contributions that Dennis has made during his 15 years at BU," Lynch said in a press release. "To a man, his student-athletes competed hard on the court, earned their degrees in the classroom and represented BU well in the community. We wish Dennis nothing but the best in his future endeavors.

"This decision was not made quickly or easily. However, after a thorough analysis, I believe that a change in leadership is in the best interests of our men's basketball program."

According to an article on ESPN.com, Wolff was in New York on a recruiting trip when he was asked to return to Boston to meet with the administration. The department asked Wolff to resign and when he refused, his contract was terminated. The article also stated that Wolff is currently negotiating a buyout for his contract, which had four years remaining.

In addition to Wolff, assistant coaches Sean Ryan and Will Seward were released as well as Director of Basketball Operation Thomas Joyce. Associate head coach Orlando Vandross, who's been with the team for 12 seasons, was not fired and could be among what is a "nationwide pool" of applicants to fill the open position. The press release states the search has already started, but no date has been set for its termination.

Wolff, the longest-tenured and winningest coach in BU history, led the Terriers to their first winning season in three years in 2008-09. The team compiled a 17-12 regular-season record before being ousted in the first round of the America East Tournament in a 79-75 overtime loss to the No. 6 University of Maryland-Baltimore County.

Under Wolff, BU won three consecutive regular-season conference titles (2002-04) and made four straight postseason appearances (2002-05). During the course of his coaching career with the Terriers, he led the team to two NCAA Tournament appearances and three NIT appearances.

Wolff was named the America East Coach of the Year in 1997, 2003, 2004, the NABC District I Coach of the Year in 1997 and 2004 and the New England Division I Coach of the Year in 1997 and 2004.

He finished his coaching career at BU with a 247-197 record.

Please continue checking the blog and www.dailyfreepress.com as more information becomes available.

Links:
Men's basketball coach Dennis Wolff fired
A shocking firing at Boston University
Boston University fires coach Wolff
BU Fires Wolff
Boston U. fires all-time winningest coach
Boston University fires coach after 15 seasons

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Breaking news two hours after the fact.

Anonymous said...

Probably one of the worst coaches i've ever see coach a team. His late game calls were just horrendous. A team with Corey and John should dominate the lackluster America East year after year and Wolff proved he couldn't even win a tourny game with them. See yaaaa