As confirmed by multiple sources, the University of Iowa athletic department is expected to "part ways" with men's basketball head coach Fran McCaffery. The news was first reported by ESPN's Pete Thamel.
"Fran McCaffery has been an integral part of our Hawkeye family for the past 15 years. He is a tremendous coach and teacher, and we are grateful for the positive impact he has made on the institution and the community," athletic director Beth Goetz said in a statement." We have a deep appreciation for his dedication to our student-athletes and his passion for the game that will have a lasting impact on our program."
McCaffery ends his Iowa tenure with the most wins in Hawkeye basketball history, finishing with a final record of 297-207. The Hawkeyes finished his final season as head coach with a record of 17-16 and lost in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament.
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McCaffery first became head coach at Iowa in March of 2010 after five seasons at Siena, where he led the Saints to a record of 112-51, won back-to-back-to-back MAAC regular season and tournament titles, and took his team to three straight NCAA Tournaments.
Though the Hawkeyes took until his fourth season as head coach to reach the NCAA Tournament, McCaffery quickly turned around a program that was among the worst in the Big Ten and the country following Todd Lickliter's tenure as the leader of the program.
Over his 15 years as head coach, McCaffery took the Hawkeyes to the NCAA Tournament seven times and also won a Big Ten Tournament title in the 2021-22 season. Iowa finished ranked in the AP Top 25 four times over that stretch as well.
In addition to the team accomplishments, McCaffery developed some of the greatest basketball players to come through Iowa City, including Luka Garza who was named the Naismith National Player of the Year for the 2020-21 season, also earning First-Team All-American honors that season and the year prior. Keegan Murray, who was just a sophomore in 2021-22, also earned First-Team All-American honors that season while being named the Karl Malone National Power Forward of the Year. Kris Murray, Keegan's twin brother, was named second-team All-American the following season.
Prior to that run, McCaffery had also developed Jarrod Uthoff into a standout player. Uthoff was named a Second Team All-American in the 2015-16 season -- Iowa's first All-American in 19 years.
Along with the individual accomplishments at the college level, McCaffery notably sent several his players to the NBA after their time in Iowa City. Along with Garza, the Murrays, and Uthoff, Tyler Cook, Devyn Marble and Joe Wieskamp each either spent time in the NBA or are currently on rosters in the league. Keegan became the highest-drafted player in program history after being taken with the fourth pick by the Sacramento Kings in the 2022 NBA Draft.
The administration at Iowa will now look for a new head coach for the men's basketball team for the first time in a decade and a half. Follow along with Hawkeye Beacon's continued coverage of the coaching search and become a premium subscriber today.
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