:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72060315/1465187601.0.jpg "Brian Gregory fired: USF basketball to replace head coach after another disappointing season")
USF fired men's basketball head coach Brian Gregory on Frida following the conclusion a 14-18 campaign this season, Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports reported on Friday. The move comes after the Bulls were bounced from the AAC Tournament by ECU in a 73-58 loss on Thursday. He posted a poor 79-107 record through six seasons with the program.
A former head coach at Dayton and Georgia Tech, Gregory was hired in 2017 to take over a beleaguered USF program that had won just 24 games in the previous three seasons combined under predecessor Orlando Antigua. After posting a 10-22 record in Year 1, Gregory and his Bulls showed promise the following season by posting a 24-14 record and winning the 2019 CBI Tournament in the postseason. However, the upward momentum from that season would soon swing back into the other direction.
A 14-17 mark during the 2019-20 campaign would be followed by a 9-13 record during the pandemic-stunted 2020-21 season. Off the court, the program came under investigation for reports of assistant coach Tom Herrion making racially insensitive comments towards student athletes. Herrion's contract was not renewed by the school, but the damage was done with nine players transferring out of the program following the season. The Bulls' mediocrity would continue on the court, posting just eight wins during the 2021-22 campaign before another below .500 season this year. That finally prompted Gregory's ouster in Tampa.
USF will now search for a new head coach that can somehow turn the tide of a program that has just one NCAA Tournament appearance since 1992.