ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia Tech fired men’s basketball coach Brian Gregory on Friday, less than 48 hours after another disappointing season ended in the NIT.
The move was announced by athletic director Mike Bobinski, who had said a year ago the Yellow Jackets would need to show improvement for Gregory to keep his job.
While Georgia Tech made the postseason for the first time in Gregory’s five seasons as coach, that wasn’t enough. The Yellow Jackets won a pair of NIT games before losing at San Diego State 72-56 on Wednesday night.
Gregory was dismissed after posting an overall record of 76-86, which included a dismal 27-61 mark in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
“This was a difficult decision because of the character and integrity that Brian has demonstrated throughout his time at Georgia Tech,” Bobinski said in a statement. “I have great respect for Brian as a person and for the effort he’s put forth on our behalf. He and the student-athletes under his direction have represented Georgia Tech in a first-rate manner and we’re greatly appreciative of the improvements he’s overseen in our program’s academic performance.
“However, as we look to the future, we believe a change in leadership is needed for our program to achieve higher and sustained levels of competitive success.”
The 49-year-old Gregory acknowledged that this season was a disappointment after the Yellow Jackets missed out on an NCAA bid, despite being bolstered by several one-and-done transfers. Most of the team’s top players are seniors, leaving the next coach with a massive rebuilding job at a once-powerhouse program that hasn’t been much of a factor since reaching the national championship game in 2004.
“I’m not going to sugarcoat it,” Gregory said last week. “I wish we were playing (in NCAA) and had an opportunity.”
Georgia Tech’s financially strapped athletic program will owe Gregory more than $1.3 million for the final two years of his contract, and the school is still owes his predecessor, Paul Hewitt, $2.7 million over the next three years — the remainder of a $7.2 million buyout he received after being fired in 2011. That means the Yellow Jackets will be paying three coaches after they hire Gregory’s successor.
Despite the drain on the budget, Bobinski decided he could wait no longer to make a change, especially in light on dwindling attendance at McCamish Pavilion and the clear disgruntlement of big-money boosters.
Gregory previously coached at Dayton, where he went 172-94 in eight seasons and guided the Flyers to a pair of NCAA Tournament bids.
He was never able to do that at Georgia Tech, which hasn’t been to the NCAAs since 2010 and has made only one appearance in the last nine years.
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