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Herrion era ending
From ECU and staff
reports
(Update >>> code ECX
BKB5)
Bill Herrion was informed
Tuesday that East Carolina intends to replace him as its head basketball
coach at the end of the season.
The university confirmed
in an afternoon press release that athletic director Terry Holland met
with Herrion earlier in the day and asked him to step down from the
position he has held since succeeding Joe Dooley in 1999.
Holland asked Herrion to
accept another job within ECU's athletic department, said the release,
which noted that senior associate AD Nick Floyd was also present at the
meeting.
Going into Wednesday's
home game against Conference USA foe Southern Mississippi, Herrion's
overall record with the Pirates is 69-96 and his league mark is 16-45.
None of the teams in his six years on the job has had a winning record,
though his 2000-01 squad broke even with a 14-14 mark.
"Nick Floyd (ECU Senior
Associate Athletics Director) and I met with Coach Herrion Tuesday
morning and asked him to relinquish the head basketball coaching
position at the end of this season to work with a major fund raising
initiative for ECU Athletics," Holland said in a statement. "As you can
imagine, it was a very emotional meeting for all concerned and we asked
Coach Herrion to take some time before responding."
So far this season, the
Pirates are 8-17 overall. They are mired in
13th place in C-USA
with a 3-10 record, one notch above cellar dweller Southern Miss, and
face a virtual must-win situation against the Golden Eagles Wednesday
night to stay in the thick of the battle with 11th-place South Florida
and 12th-place Tulane to secure spots among the 12 teams that will be
invited to the 14-team league's postseason tournament.
"The timing of the meeting
was intended to eliminate the game-to-game pressure that we felt was a
negative for everyone involved," Holland stated. "Any further comments
will have to come from Coach Herrion until the season is over."
Indications are that
Herrion will coach the remainder of the season and may accept the
assignment to the fundraising position, according to a source, though
Herrion's strong ties in the coaching profession and his successful
track record prior to coming to ECU will likely result in other coaching
opportunities.
A 1981 graduate of
Merrimack College, Herrion put in stints as an assistant at Boston
University (1985-90) and George Washington (1990-91) before serving as
head coach at Drexel from 1991 until taking the reigns of the Pirates in
1999.
Herrion compiled a 121-32
record at Drexel and led the Dragons to three NCAA tournament berths and
an NIT appearance. Herrion's 1995-96 team advanced to the second round
of the NCAA tournament.
Page updated:
02/23/07 11:44 AM
©2005
Bonesville.net. Brian Bailey contributed to this report. All
rights rights reserved. This material may
not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Compiled
from
ECU Athletics and staff reports.
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