Photo by Scott Clarke / ESPN Images(BLOOMINGTON, Ind.) — Indiana University and men’s basketball coach Tom Crean have parted ways, the school announced Thursday.
Crean spent nine years as the Hoosiers’ coach, taking his program to the NCAA Tournament seven times and reaching the Sweet 16 three times.
“After deliberative thought and evaluation, including multiple meetings with Tom about the future, I have decided to make a chance in the leadership of our men’s basketball program,” Indiana Athletic Director Fred Glass said. He also said that the school will seek “more consistent, high levels of success” from their next coach.
Indiana is just the fourth school in history to achieve a top-three ranking in the Associated Press poll and miss the NCAA Tournament during the same season. The other three were Louisville in 1985-1986, Missouri in 2002-2003, and Kentucky in 2011-2012.
In 2008, Crean took the job at Indiana with a program in trouble. Former coach Kelvin Sampson had left with self-imposed sanctions and NCAA probation in place. He went 166-135 in his career, the second-worst winning percentage among coaches who lasted more than 100 games at IU.
Crean previously coached at Marquette, going 190-96 and reaching the 2003 Final Four.
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