One day after being eliminated from the Hockey East tournament, University of Massachusetts athletic director Ryan Bamford announced Sunday via a press release that hockey coach John Micheletto has been fired.
Micheletto, who had one year remaining on a five-year contract, took over the Minutemen in 2012 and accumulated a record of 39-88-13 in the four years he was in charge, including a 20-61-10 mark in conference play.
This year, UMass went 8-22-4, and only recorded two wins in Hockey East play.
“On behalf of UMass Athletics, we thank John for his four years in Amherst,” Bamford said in the release. “John worked hard to improve our hockey program and we wish him well with his future endeavors.”
Per the release, a national search for a replacement is underway.
“Our expectation is to be a top contender every year in Hockey East, the premiere collegiate hockey conference,” Bamford said. “We will work aggressively to recruit a head coach to our hockey program that can realize those expectations.”
Women’s basketball coach Sharon Dawley was also fired after six seasons in charge of the Minutewomen, per UMass Athletics.
After a six-game winning streak to end the regular season, UMass won its first round game in the Atlantic 10 tournament against La Salle before falling to Fordham and ending its season.
Dawley finished with a record of 46-133 in six years, winning 12 games in back-to-back seasons after winning just four games in 2013-14 and three in 2012-12. The Minutewomen finished 12-18 this year.
She also had one year remaining on her contract.
“We thank Sharon for her solid efforts on behalf of UMass women’s basketball,” Bamford said. “We wish her well personally and professionally moving forward.”
“We believe that our women’s basketball program has the necessary resources to compete for Atlantic 10 Championships and national postseason play,” he added. “Our expectation of building a championship-caliber program presents an exciting opportunity for our department and our next head coach.”
A nationwide search for a replacement is ongoing.
According to the Daily Hampshire Gazette, Micheletto was set to make $210,000 next season while Dawley had a base salary of $237,000. Both will be paid in full, per the report.
The firing of both Dawley and Micheletto mark the first major coaching changes made by Bamford, who was hired last year.
Jason Kates can be reached at [email protected] and followed @JKates1216.
