FAYETTEVILLE -- The University of Arkansas fired men's basketball coach Mike Anderson on Tuesday, citing a failure to consistently compete for conference and national championships.
Anderson, 59, never finished with a losing record in eight seasons as the Razorbacks' head coach, but it wasn't enough to keep his job after Arkansas finished the season 18-16 and didn't advance to the NCAA Tournament.
"After a review of the program, including an analysis of the past eight years and a look forward, I have made a decision that a change in leadership will best position our men's basketball program for future success," UA Athletic Director Hunter Yurachek said in a news release. "In the past eight seasons, we have won a number of games and have made appearances in both the NIT and the NCAA Tournaments.
"However, in my evaluation, we have not sustained a consistent level of success against the most competitive teams in the nation to enable us to compete for SEC and NCAA championships on an annual basis. That will continue to be the benchmark for our success throughout our athletic program."
Yurachek said he will begin a search immediately for Anderson's replacement and that Melvin Watkins, an assistant coach, will serve as an interim coach until a new coach is hired.
Anderson had a 169-102 record at Arkansas, including 78-64 in Southeastern Conference games.
— Coach Mike Anderson (@MikeAndersonUA) March 26, 2019
His worst record at Arkansas was 16-16 during the 2015-16 season.
Anderson's final game was a 63-60 loss at Indiana on Saturday in the second round of the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) after the Razorbacks opened the tournament with an 84-72 victory at Providence, R.I.
Arkansas made three NCAA Tournament appearances under Anderson in 2015, 2017 and 2018, and played in the NIT in 2014.
"Razorback Nation, it's been a challenging day," Anderson said in a 59-second video posted on his Twitter account. "When you have pride and passion about what you do, it's hard to say goodbye.
"I've had the opportunity to be the head coach here for the last eight years, and it's been a great experience."
Anderson, whose annual salary of $2,550,000 ranked 39th nationally, according to a USA Today survey, is owed slightly less than $3 million from the university, based on a contract extension he signed Nov. 22, 2017.
If Anderson had been fired before March 23 -- which was Saturday, the day of his final game -- his buyout would have been $3 million. With the firing coming four days later, the buyout will be prorated accordingly. Income from a future coaching job could reduce Arkansas' financial obligation to Anderson.
Before the contract extension though the 2021-22 season, Anderson's buyout was $1 million.
Anderson was a Razorbacks assistant coach for 17 seasons under Nolan Richardson, from 1986-2002. His time as an assistant included 13 NCAA Tournament appearances, including Final Fours in 1990, 1994 and 1995. Arkansas won its only basketball national championship in 1994 and finished runner-up in 1995.
Anderson never has had a losing season in 17 seasons as a college head coach, with an overall record of 369-200.
He thanked Jeff Long, the former athletic director who hired him at UA, and David Gearhart, who was the university's chancellor at the time.
"I had a lot of great players to come our way and had a very good, young basketball team that's getting ready to really ascend and do some great things," Anderson said in his video. "I want to thank my family for their love and support, our coaching staff and their families, and I also want to thank the Razorback fans. There are none like our Razorback fans. Thank you.
"To all of my friends -- in 25 years of being here in Arkansas, we've made tremendous friends -- I want to say thank you for your support."
The Razorbacks didn't have a senior this season, when they went 12-15 in their final 27 games after a 6-1 start. They also had a six-game losing streak, the longest in Anderson's 17 seasons as a head coach. They were 6-8 in games decided by 4 or fewer points or that went into overtime.
Arkansas finished 8-10 in SEC play, tying Alabama for ninth in the league's standings after being picked 10th in the preseason SEC media day poll. It was the Razorbacks' first losing SEC record since Anderson's first season, when they went 6-10 in 2012.
Arkansas had its most home losses this season under Anderson, finishing 12-6 in Walton Arena. In the previous seven seasons, the Razorbacks' most home losses were four.
With Anderson's firing, there are now four head basketball coach openings in the SEC, along with Alabama, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt. There could be a fifth SEC opening if Will Wade -- currently suspended by Louisiana State University -- is fired.
University of Houston Coach Kelvin Sampson, who has led the Cougars to a 33-3 record and an NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 appearance against Kentucky on Friday night, is expected to be the leading candidate for the Arkansas job.
Sampson, 63, worked with Yurachek at the University of Houston. Yurachek was Houston's athletic director before being hired at UA on Dec. 4, 2017.
Sampson's salary is $1.6 million, and he would owe Houston a $550,000 buyout if he leaves before June 1, 2019, according to the Houston Chronicle.
The only head coach Yurachek has hired at Arkansas -- women's tennis coach Courtney Steinbock -- came from Houston.
Anderson didn't have the level of success in his return to Arkansas that he enjoyed in his first two head coaching stops at Alabama-Birmingham and Missouri in terms of advancing in the NCAA Tournament. He took Alabama-Birmingham to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 in 2004, and Missouri to the Elite Eight in 2009.
Anderson's Arkansas teams were a combined 2-3 in the NCAA Tournament, with first-round victories over Wofford College in 2015 and Seton Hall University in 2017. Last season, the Razorbacks lost to Butler University in their NCAA Tournament opener.
The Razorbacks nearly ended their streak of not advancing to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 since 1996, but they lost to No. 1 seed North Carolina 72-65 in 2017 in Greenville, S.C., after the Tar Heels outscored the Razorbacks 12-0 over the final 3:28 to erase a 65-60 deficit. North Carolina went on to win the national championship.
Anderson's Razorbacks finished 27-9 during the 2014-15 season and 26-10 during the 2016-17 season. They were 23-11 last season.
Daniel Gafford, Arkansas' All-SEC sophomore forward who declared for the NBA Draft on March 18 and didn't play in the NIT, tweeted his support for Anderson.
"Never understood how he handled so much hate thrown at him," Gafford posted on his Twitter account. "He helped me mature from a freshman to the man I am now. Can't thank this man enough."
Arkansas sophomore point guard Jalen Harris tweeted, "@Coach Mike Anderson, you and your staff believed in me when no one else did! This one hurt man."
Bobby Portis, the 2015 SEC Player of the Year as a UA sophomore who now plays for the Washington Wizards, tweeted that he did not agree with the decision to fire Anderson.
"Y'all got what you wanted, a bunch of college athletes crying because we just lost our coach," UA sophomore forward Gabe Osabuohien tweeted. "I hope y'all fans are happy."
Anderson's firing came a day before the university's board of trustees open a regularly scheduled two-day meeting in Hot Springs, where trustees plan to approve a resolution to rename the Bud Walton Arena basketball court after Richardson.
Board of trustees members contacted by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on Tuesday deferred to other board members for comments on Anderson's firing.
Reached by telephone, trustee Cliff Gibson deferred to board chairman John Goodson and athletics committee chairman Stephen Broughton. When asked whether he'd spoken with athletic department officials, such as Yurachek, about Anderson, Gibson said, "I have not talked to Hunter Yurachek about Coach Anderson."
Goodson deferred to Broughton for comments on Anderson.
Goodson said only, "I think we're really supportive of the athletic director." When asked whether he had spoken with athletic department officials, Goodson said, "I'm not making any more comments."
Yurachek also offered praise for Anderson in the release announcing the coach's firing.
"During his tenure with our program, Mike Anderson has represented the University of Arkansas in a first-class manner and with the highest level of integrity on and off the floor," Yurachek said. "We are grateful for Coach Anderson's many contributions to our program and most of all for his investment in the lives of the many student-athletes he has coached.
"He has been a positive influence on their lives, encouraged them and supported them on, both their individual and collective, academic and athletic journeys. We wish Mike, his wife Marcheita and the entire Anderson family the very best."
Information for this article was contributed by Emily Walkenhorst of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
A Section on 03/27/2019