Skip to main content
Join
Team Avatar
Miami

ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips releases statement on retirement of Miami coach Jim Larranaga

by:Alex Byington•12/26/24•

_AlexByington

ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips
Jim Phillips (Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports)

ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips praised retiring Miami head men’s basketball coach Jim Larranaga in a statement Thursday afternoon. The statement came after the 75-year-old’s official announcement and press conference.

“Jim Larranaga is a tremendous man who left a mark as not only the most accomplished coach in Miami Basketball history, but as one of the premier coaches in ACC history,” Phillips’ statement reads, according to Sun Sentinel reporter Adam Lichtenstein. “His coaching record speaks for itself with over 700 career wins, but he always has led his program with the utmost integrity and class. He elevated the Miami program to new levels during his tenure, including a Final Four, and made lifelong impacts on his student-athletes through his lessons on the court and in life outside the game. Our league has been better because of him and we will miss his presence and voice. We wish Jim, his wife Liz, and their family all the best in their next endeavor.”

Larranaga steps away from Miami with a record of 274-174. That has included six appearances in the NCAA Tournament, two regular season conference championships, and an ACC Tournament Championship.

In the 2022 and 2023 NCAA Tournaments, Larranaga led Miami to the Elite Eight and the Final Four respectively. However, after finishing the 2023-24 season on a 10-game losing streak, he’s opened the 2024-25 season 4-8.

Prior to his time at Miami, Larranaga was the head coach at George Mason, Bowling Green, and American International. Over the course of his time in those roles, he won 744 games and made it to the Final Four twice. He was also an assistant at Davidson and Virginia and had been in college coaching since 1971. He was also twice named the CAA Coach of the Year and twice named the ACC Coach of the Year.

Jim Larranaga explains why he chose to suddenly step down at Miami

In the wake of his decision to step down from the men’s basketball program, Miami held a press conference Thursday afternoon where Larranaga explained his decision.

“It’s really hard to put into words why I’ve decided to do this,” Jim Larranaga said. “But it’s because of my love of basketball. I love the game. I’ve loved coaching it. I love practice every day. I love working with the players. But because I love the game and I love the university that much, I felt like there’s one thing you’ve got to constantly ask yourself. Are you going to give everything you have the commitment that it deserves? 100 percent of yourself physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Quite frankly, I’ve tried to do that throughout my life and throughout my time here, but I’m exhausted.”

It was previously reported that Miami was expected to replace Larranaga with Bill Courtney in an interim role to manage the Hurricanes throughout the remainder of the season. He joined the staff in 2019 and has been Miami’s associate head coach since 2022. He also has head coaching experience, having led Cornell from 2010 through the 2016 season.

Dan Morrison contributed to this report.