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Former Iowa star Luka Garza pens emotional message to Fran McCaffery after firing

Wade-Peeryby:Wade Peery•about 14 hours
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Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

The Iowa Hawkeyes decided to part ways with longtime head basketball coach Fran McCaffery after 15 seasons on Friday. It’s the official end of an era for the Hawkeye hoops program and one of the biggest stars in Iowa history decided to send him a message through his Twitter page on Friday. Luka Garza penned an emotional message to McCaffery after he got fired.

“Thank you Coach for changing my life, and the lives of so many others. You believed in a way that not many others did. Choosing to play in the black and gold was the best decision I have ever made for a lot of reasons, but mainly because I was able to be coached by you,” Garza tweeted.

Iowa parts ways with head coach Fran McCaffery

Iowa has made it official. Athletics director Beth Goetz announced Friday afternoon the school is parting ways with men’s basketball coach Fran McCaffery.

McCaffery just completed his 15th season at Iowa after the Hawkeyes’ season came to an end against Illinois in the Big Ten tournament on Thursday after taking down Ohio State to advance in the bracket. Questions swirled about whether McCaffery would be back in 2025-26 or not, and he definitively said he expected to return.

Iowa Head Coach Hot Board

However, news broke Friday morning he was out. Goetz released a statement on the decision, thanking McCaffery for the impact he made on the program. She also confirmed Iowa plans to do a national search for its next head coach.

“Fran McCaffery has been an integral part of our Hawkeye family for the past 15 years. He is a tremendous coach and teacher, and we are grateful for the positive impact he has made on the institution and the community,” Goetz said. “We have a deep appreciation for his dedication to our student-athletes and his passion for the game that will have a lasting impact on our program.”

McCaffery amassed a 297-207 record since taking over at Iowa in 2010. However, the last two seasons were especially tough, including this year’s 17-16 record. The Hawkeyes didn’t win a road game until February.

The rough go created frustration around the fan base and led some to wonder if a change could be on the way. Ultimately, Iowa chose to move on, creating an intriguing opening in the Big Ten for next season.

McCaffery’s contract lasted through June 30, 2028. With this, Iowa will now owe him a roughly $4.2 million buyout for its decision to move on early.

Under McCaffery’s leadership, Iowa made seven NCAA Tournament appearances, but failed to make it past the Round of 32. The Hawkeyes likely would have made another appearance in the Field of 68 in in 2019-20, but the tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

McCaffery’s best season at Iowa was in 2021-22 when the Hawkeyes posted a 26-10 overall record, a 12-8 conference mark and won the Big Ten Tournament for the first time since 2006. The team was led by Keegan Murray, a Consensus All-American and All-Big Ten selection who went on to be the No. 4 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.

On3’s Grant Grubbs and Nick Schultz also contributed to this article.