University of Memphis men’s basketball coach Josh Pastner was named the new coach at Georgia Tech earlier today.
Pastner accumulated a 167-73 record in seven seasons at the U of M, good enough for the fourth most wins in program history. He also won two Conference USA regular season titles and three Conference USA tournament championships. However, the Tigers went just 37-29 in the past two seasons, missing the NCAA tournament and NIT in consecutive seasons.
"Josh Pastner has represented the University well during his time as a Tiger. We wish Coach Pastner the very best as he leaves the University of Memphis to continue his career at Georgia Tech," said University of Memphis President M. David Rudd in a statement.
The University also announced in the same statement a national search is underway, and no public comment will be made until a new coach is hired.
“Memphis basketball is a historically-renowned program, with a strong national legacy, and we expect to attract a national candidate pool,” said U of M Athletic Director Tom Bowen. “We will be efficient, but diligent in finding the right leader for this program.”
This recent news comes as a shock given the University announced last month that Pastner would stay in a joint statement from Rudd and Bowen.
Potential candidates who have been mentioned to replace Pastner include Wichita State’s Gregg Marshall, but he makes more than $3 million per season. Other names who might be considered include VCU’s Will Wade and Ole Miss’ Andy Kennedy.
Pastner, who arrived at Memphis as former coach John Calipari’s assistant ahead of the 2008-09 season, replaced Calipari after his former boss took the University of Kentucky coaching job.
After the Tigers qualified for the NIT in Pastner’s first season in 2009-10, Memphis made four consecutive NCAA tournaments under Pastner. Though the Tigers won just two tournament games in that span, and never advanced passed the round of 32.
Nevertheless, in 2013 Pastner got a five-year contract extension, which essentially became a seven-year contract following two automatic renewals, and is currently making $2.65 million.
The Tigers’ poor performance in the last two seasons led to speculation about Pastner’s job security, but the buyout, which was $10.6 million, appeared to be too much for the U of M.
Pastner will replace the departing Brian Gregory at Georgia Tech. Gregory finished 76-86 in his time with the Yellow Jackets, and made just one postseason appearance
University of Memphis coach Josh Pastner has been coaching the Tigers since 2009. However, the Tigers have failed to make the postseason in the past two years, after making it each of the first five years of Pastner's career at Memphis.
