JThe Arizona State Sun Devils have a matchup against the Baylor Bears on Tuesday in the opening round of the Big 12 Tournament, but regardless of the result, it appears as if the program has made a decision on the future of their head coach. Current Arizona State head coach Bobby Hurley is expected to be fired by the end of the season, as per Pete Nakos of On3.
The decision to fire Bobby Hurley comes after a season in which the program’s longtime head coach led Arizona State to a disappointing 16-15 overall finish, and 7-11 in Big 12 play. The team came in as the No. 12 seed in the conference tournament.
Just a few days ago, Hurley was honest about the prospect of him being fired this year, and even back before the start of the season, he appeared to be on the hot seat. This was the final year of Hurley’s current contract.
It’s been a rough couple of seasons for Hurley as the Sun Devils have failed to qualify for the NCAA Tournament five of the past six seasons. Obviously this year is still up in the air, but Arizona State would have to pull off a 2024 NC State-like run, winning the Big 12 Tournament to earn the automatic bid to March Madness.
This is Hurley’s 11th season at the helm as Arizona State head coach. During that time, he’s compiled an overall record of 184-166. After his first two seasons, the program showed major improvement. The Sun Devils reached the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back seasons from 2017-2019. But since then, the team has been marred with inconsistency.
Hurley came to Arizona State after a relatively successful two-season stint at Buffalo. His teams posted a winning record in both years, and made the NCAA Tournament in 2014-15.
