The No. 12 Arizona State Sun Devils took a hard 91-42 loss to the No. 5 Iowa State Cyclones on Wednesday, effectively eliminating the program from the Big 12 Tournament. Shortly after the 49-point loss, it was announced that Bobby Hurley was fired as head coach.
Hurley is officially out as head coach at Arizona State after 11 years with the program, according to Chris Karpman of Sun Devil Source, an affiliate of 247 Sports. It's said that the 54-year-old coach will be on paid administrative leave until his contract ends in the summer.
“BREAKING: Bobby Hurley's coaching tenure at ASU is over after 11 seasons, sources tell Sun Devil Source. Hurley will go on paid administrative leave through the remainder of his contract in June. Hurley was 185-167 overall and 90-115 in conference games at ASU.”
Bobby Hurley, who is brothers with UConn Huskies head coach Dan Hurley, was a standout point guard at Duke during his playing days. He went No. 7 overall in the 1993 NBA Draft to the Sacramento Kings and played five total seasons in the league. He accepted his first coaching role as an assistant at Wagner in 2010, where he has continued his coaching career since then.
Arizona State initially hired Hurley in 2015 after a successful two-year stint with the Buffalo Bulls. Unfortunately, that success never quite translated with the Sun Devils, as Bobby Hurley never led the program to a Conference Championship. Additionally, Arizona State has only been to two March Madness Tournaments during Hurley's tenure, being bounced out of the first round both times (2018-19, 2022-23).
With the Sun Devils eliminated from the Big Dance, the program will likely shift its attention toward finding a new head coach immediately. It's not clear who Arizona State is targeting, but we should expect a thorough search before a final decision is made.
