Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press
Saturday’s home loss against Liberty was the final straw for head coach Steve Alford.
UCLA announced Monday that athletic director Dan Guerrero fired Alford following a four-game losing streak that dropped the Bruins to 7-6 this season.
Seth Davis of The Athletic first reported the news.
The university announced assistant coach Murry Bartow will serve as interim head coach.
UCLA hired Alford prior to the 2013-14 campaign, and he made the NCAA tournament in four of his first five years before a lackluster start in his sixth.
Alford, who was 124-63 at UCLA, was reportedly on the hot seat before this season even started.
Tracy Pierson of 247Sports reported as much, noting the administration planned on keeping him throughout the campaign but changed its mind after the four-game losing streak and with the coach “seemingly losing control of his team.”
Pierson cited sources who said donors pressured the administration to fire Alford. A $2.6 million buyout that was set to kick in if he was fired before May 1, 2019, was negotiated into an agreement Sunday.
Rob Dauster of College Basketball Talk reported UCLA’s players “hated” Alford, which also contributed to the timing of his ouster.
Alford was the head coach at Missouri State, Iowa and New Mexico prior to UCLA. He had general success at each stop, going 78-48, 152-106 and 155-52, respectively, with seven combined NCAA tournament appearances.
Jeff Goodman of Stadium reported Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey will be on the list of potential targets, although he noted landing him would be a “long shot” for the Bruins.
Adam Zagoria of SNY reported that he spoke to a source who said Fred Hoiberg would likely consider future NBA openings before the opening at UCLA.
Alford appeared well on his way to more success with the Bruins with a 28-9 record, Pac-12 tournament title and Sweet 16 appearance in his first season. He reached the Sweet 16 the next season and again in 2016-17 but never advanced any deeper into the Big Dance with the legendary program.
UCLA lost in the First Four last season and doesn’t have the appearance of a tournament team this season after missing out on opportunities against Michigan State, North Carolina, Ohio State and Cincinnati and losing to Belmont and Liberty.
from News fore today http://bit.ly/2F0wTZp
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