Report: Tulsa Golden Hurricanes have made a decision on head coach Frank Haith

The Tulsa Golden Hurricanes are out of the Conference AAC men’s basketball conference tournament. And shortly after their exit, news broke that head coach Frank Haith is out too. College basketball insider for CBS Sports John Rothenstein has reported that sources close to the program say that heath will not return as the Golden Hurricanes head coach next season.

Haith has spent the last eight years as the head coach of Tulsa after taking over the program in 2014. Before that, he was the head coach for the Miami Hurricanes from 2004 to 2011 and the Missouri Tigers from 2011 to 2014. Haith left both programs in the midst of NCAA investigations.

During the eight-year span, Haith led Tulsa to one NCAA men’s basketball tournament appearance, back in the 2015-2016 season. His 2019-2020 season is his best year at Tulsa. Haith led the Golden Hurricanes to a 21-10 record and captured an AAC regular-season championship. He would also capture the AAC coach of the year award and would have likely made his second appearance in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, had it not been canceled because of the COVID outbreak.

Haith’s last two years have been his worst in Tulsa, with this season being the worse of the two. The Golden Hurricanes finished the year with an 11-20 record and were 4-14 in conference play. Haith ends his tenure in Tulsa with a 138-108 record.

Bulldogs parting ways with Tom Crean

According to multiple reports, the University of Georgia has decided to part ways with head men’s basketball coach Tom Crean following what was an abysmal season for the Bulldogs on the hardwood.

At 1-17 in conference play, an embarrassing conference record for losses, and a dismal 6-26 overall finish to the season after its first-round loss to Vanderbilt in the SEC Tournament on Wednesday, the news comes as no surprise and has felt inevitable for several weeks now. In fact, it’s also been reported that Georgia is already working with a search firm to help find the next head coach and has been doing so for several weeks now.

Statement from Georgia

Georgia made the news official with the following statement:

The University of Georgia has decided to change the leadership of its men’s basketball program, and Tom Crean will not return for his fifth season as the Bulldogs’ head coach.

“I would like to sincerely thank Coach Crean and his family for their commitment to Georgia Basketball,” said Josh Brooks, J. Reid Parker Director of Athletics. “Tom Crean demonstrated unquestionable effort and enthusiasm in what he has attempted to accomplish at Georgia.  That said, our expectation is to compete for post-season success in all 21 sports. We believe a leadership change in men’s basketball is needed to achieve our goals.”

This season, Georgia finished 6-26 overall and 1-17 in the SEC. Crean compiled a 47-75 record and was 15-57 in SEC play during his four seasons.