Tim Jankovich will not return as SMU basketball head coach, to retire

Tim Jankovich will not return as SMU basketball head coach, sources told On The Pony Express. Jankovich led SMU to a 125-64 overall record as SMU’s head coach and finished 24-9 overall in 2021-22.

Jankovich will retire from coaching basketball, the school confirmed in a release on Tuesday. SMU athletic director Rick Hart said the school will conduct a national search.

“We turn towards the future and are embarking on a national search for our next head coach,” said Hart. “With a rich tradition, passionate and generous supporters, tremendous facilities, a great gameday environment, and a world-class university located in Dallas, Texas, there will be strong interest in this opportunity.”

2021-22 needed to be an NCAA Tournament run for the Mustangs with Jankovich entering the final year of his contract.

Instead, SMU struggled out of the gates and while the team finished No. 2 in the AAC in the regular season, it wasn’t enough to get the team an NCAA Tournament berth. SMU fell to Memphis, 70-63, in the AAC Tournament semifinal, which helped seal his fate.

A poor strength of schedule and brutal non-conference losses to Loyola-Marymount and Missouri sunk SMU’s hopes in the end. The Mustangs earned a No. 1 seed in the NIT earned a win over Nicholls State in the first round, 68-58. Sunday, the postseason and perfect home record this season ended in a 75-63 loss to Washington State on Sunday.

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SMU’s push during “Game 7” pressure not enough

SMU fell short of its NCAA Tournament push this year and Jankovich applauded his team’s effort down the stretch under the pressure. Losses in the nonconference hurt the team’s postseason hopes. It was a “Game 7” mentality for the team for almost all of league play.

“I’m just proud of them. I can’t thank them enough,” Tim Jankovich said on Sunday. “When you’re on the inside of it or if you’ve ever played a full season or coached it or whatever, it’s probably so much different than when you’re on the other side of it because you see first hand, front row seat of how difficult it is. When things are going well, let alone when there’s incredible adversity thrown upon guys. 

“This team played under tremendous pressure for a long time down the stretch trying to earn the deserved place to get a bid to the tournament. We didn’t put it on the board, but we just said, ‘Hey, we’re all Game 7 now.’ That started a long time ago. These guys kept responding no matter how they felt.” 

Tim Jankovich spent last few seasons on hot seat

In 2020-21, SMU finished 11-6 in a shortened season as COVID-19 affected the Mustangs, keeping his team out of the NCAA Tournament discussion.

In 2019-20, SMU finished 19-11 overall and 9-9 in league play, losing three straight to cap the season. All three losses came in different, but brutal fashion. SMU finished No. 88 in the NET rankings, brought down by one of the worst nonconference schedules in America. COVID-19 ended the season before the Mustangs could play in the AAC Tournament.

The two two seasons prior, SMU landed at 17-16 overall in 2017-18 and 15-17 overall in 2018-19. After the 15-17 season, Tim Jankovich curtly responded to a question about his job security, shutting down speculation that he could be let go at the time.

“It’s all good. Thank you for asking. Appreciate the question though,” Jankovich quipped after the game. “How’s your status for next year? Pretty good? That’s great. So we’re both in good shape. Thank you.”

The bright spot for Jankovich during his tenure was the Kansas State alum guiding the Mustangs to a 30-5 record in 2016-17 after Larry Brown resigned in the summer before the season. Jankovich led SMU to an American Athletic Conference regular season and tournament championship. SMU lost to USC, 66-65, in an NCAA Tournament first round heartbreaker.