The University of Massachusetts will move on from men’s basketball head coach Matt McCall after the 2021-2022 season, per University officials. The Minutemen are 12-16 this season and McCall accumulated a 58-81 record in his five years as head coach of UMass.
McCall is set to finish out the remainder of the season for the Minutemen. Their final home game is Wednesday against Fordham, before ending the regular season at George Mason.
“I want to thank Matt [McCall] for his five years of service to UMass and our basketball program,” Athletic Director Ryan Bamford said in a statement. “Matt [McCall] poured himself in to this role and has been a great teammate and partner as we worked to build a championship program. Unfortunately, we have not met the results we desire on the court and I believe a change at the end of the season is in the best interest of the program. I am grateful that Matt [McCall] and I shared a mutual desire to have him finish the 2021-2022 campaign with the men in our program over the coming weeks.”
There was one winning season in the McCall era. The Minutemen went 8-7 and lost in the second round of the Atlantic 10 Tournament during the shortened 2021 season.
McCall’s offense is top three in points per game in the Atlantic 10 this season, averaging 74.5 points. But the consistent defensive woes crippled the Minutemen, who allowed a league-worst 77.9 points per game this season, and 80 points over the past five games. UMass sits at 11th in conference standings this year with a 5-11 record.
McCall has one season remaining in his contract, and the date of which he is officially terminated will affect how much he is owed based on that contract. If McCall is terminated before March 31, he’s owed half of his salary from both this year ($750,000) and next year. If the date is April 1 or later, the University owes him half of just next year’s salary, which is $850,000, according to his contract.
According to ESPN’s Jeff Borzello and Pete Thamel, potential candidates for McCall’s replacement include “Vermont’s John Becker, Missouri State’s Dana Ford, Wagner’s Bashir Mason, Yale’s James Jones, Bryant’s Jared Grasso and former Indiana coach Archie Miller.”
Joey Aliberti can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @JosephAliberti1.
