Source: Head coach Conroy to leave program
March 10, 2016
After six lackluster seasons from Tulane men’s basketball, it seems that new Athletic Director Troy Dannen will try to shake up the culture in the program.
A source close to the situation said that Dannen will not bring back current head coach Ed Conroy for next season, and Conroy will leave the program after the team finishes the 2016 American Men’s Basketball Championship tournament in Orlando, Florida.
“The writing has been on the wall,” the source said. “If you look at his track record, he hasn’t performed up to [Dannen’s] expectations. We want to win, he’s had the opportunity, but he hasn’t proven he can do that.”
The source within Tulane Athletics spoke to The Hullabaloo on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the situation.
This would mark the third huge coaching shakeup since Dannen arrived in December 2015.
No. 10 seed Tulane upset No. 7 seed UCF in its first AAC tournament game Thursday with a final of score 65-63, and play No. 2 seed Houston (22-8, 12-6) Friday.
Conroy had a 80-81 record before Tulane transferred into the AAC, and has since boasted a 26-37 (10-17, American Athletic Conference) record in the two seasons since the move, as of March 10.
Former Athletic Director Rick Dickson, who officially ends his tenure at the end of the academic year, recently awarded Conroy a contract extension, a move that promoted program stability, but had some scratching their heads after the team finished that season by losing 10 of its last 12 games in the AAC.
The program took a much expected dip in production this year, as top upcoming guard Jonathan Stark, along with a slew of transfers left the program after the 2013-14 season concluded.
If let go at weekend’s end, Dannen will truly have made a statement to supporters that losing is unacceptable under his helm. Dannen has been vocally forward about building a winning athletic program since his initial press conference.
Search committee and Fitts told Dannen one clear message, “we want to win” which was exactly what Dannen says he wanted to hear.
— Hullabaloo Sports (@hullsports) December 4, 2015
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