PITTSBURGH – Duquesne University Director of Athletics Greg Amodio announced today that Ron Everhart will not be retained as head men’s basketball coach.
“I appreciate all Ron has done for our men’s basketball program,” said Amodio. “He stepped into a difficult situation six years ago and was able to make Duquesne competitive in the Atlantic 10 Conference. Although the program has improved, our goal has always been to compete for the A-10 championship and consistently be in the hunt for high-level postseason play. I feel a change in leadership is necessary to help us refocus on that goal.”
Duquesne finished the 2011-12 season – Everhart’s sixth – with a 16-15 record in tying for ninth place in the Atlantic 10 Conference with a 7-9 record. The Dukes lost at Massachusetts in the first round of the Atlantic 10 Championship.
“I want to thank Duquesne University for a great opportunity,” said Everhart. “I am very proud of the significant improvements the program made in the past six years. I am also very proud of those who played for me – both for the awards and honors they were able to achieve and for the way they represented the University.”
Everhart, who was named Duquesne’s men’s head coach on March 29, 2006, compiled a 99-89 record in six seasons on the Bluff (46-50 in regular season Atlantic 10 play). His overall record stands at 273-261 in 18 seasons. The Fairmont, W.Va. native won his first career post-season game in 2011, when he led the Dukes to an 87-76 win at Montana in the first round of the College Basketball Invitational. Everhart’s Dukes suffered first round losses at Virginia Tech in the 2009 National Invitation Tournament and at Princeton in the 2010 CBI.
The 2009 NIT was Duquesne’s first post-season appearance since 1994.
His teams went 3-6 in Atlantic 10 Championship play with all three wins coming in 2009 when DU advanced to the title game prior to losing to Temple. The Dukes dropped their opening game in 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011 and 2012.
| Everhart had two years remaining on his contract.Amodio will be begin a search for Everhart’s successor immediately.
“We will begin an aggressive and comprehensive search to secure the best possible person to be Duquesne’s next head men’s basketball coach,” said Amodio. “Our full attention will be focused on the hire and there will be no further comment until the search is completed.” OPENING STATEMENTS FROM FRIDAY AFTERNOON PRESS CONFERENCE Duquesne University President Dr. Charles Dougherty: “We appreciate Ron’s efforts toward improving the program from where it was six years ago. But Duquesne University wants a stronger, more consistently successful basketball program. We have determined that a head coaching change is necessary for the program to move to that next level. Athletic Director Greg Amodio submitted a written assessment of this matter to me late last week. We have been in discussion throughout this last week and reached a conclusion yesterday. We notified Ron of the decision earlier today.” Duquesne University Director of Athletics Greg Amodio: |
Is there something more to this? I remember when the Dukes were a laughing stock in the A-10, right in front of Fordham. Here is the first sentence of Everhart’s bio on the athletics web site:
“From 10 wins in 2007 to the school’s first winning season in 14 years in 2008 to consecutive postseason appearances in 2009, 2010 & 2011, Ron Everhart clearly has the Duquesne men’s basketball program headed in the right direction. ”
…which is why we’re firing him. Makes no sense.
Rey – you are not the only one scratching your head.
From the Duquesne president’s announcement: “We reached the conclusion that this kind of performance was impossible under his leadership due to uneven recruiting, large turnovers among his student athletes and coaching staff, an overall average win-loss record and a losing record in the A10, poor performance in close games, the predictable collapse of our teams late in the season, and a general disorganization and lack of communication that is clear to those close to the program.”
You can read the release here: https://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/blog/eye-on-college-basketball/17993839/duquesne-president-details-reasons-for-firing-everhart-in-email-to-board