Fansided

25 worst coaching hires in the history of college basketball

By Joey Loose

LEXINGTON, KY - JANUARY 21: Head coach Billy Gillispie of the Kentucky Wildcats reacts to the action during the SEC game against the Auburn Tigers at Rupp Arena on January 21, 2009 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
LEXINGTON, KY - JANUARY 21: Head coach Billy Gillispie of the Kentucky Wildcats reacts to the action during the SEC game against the Auburn Tigers at Rupp Arena on January 21, 2009 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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Worst college basketball coach hires
WASHINGTON, DC – DECEMBER 20: The Tulane Green Wave huddle before a first round DC Holiday Fest college basketball game against the Akron Zips at the Entertainment & Sports Arena on December 20, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

2. Ned Fowler – Tulane (1981-1985)

  • 70-45 record (4 seasons)

Please consider the case of Tulane and understand why some of these hires were so bad. It’s very fair to look back in retrospect and say that when you replace a bad coach with a successful coach that clearly the bad coach was a bad hire. This is true, but it rarely tells the whole story. The Green Wave has only appeared in three NCAA Tournaments in their entire history, and they were all led by this next coach’s successor, but it’s what happened during Ned Fowler’s tenure that is really devastating to this program.

There isn’t a lot known about Ned Fowler’s coaching career before Tulane, though he certainly arrived at the school in 1981, trying to lead the Green Wave to their first NCAA Tournament. As coach of the Green Wave, Fowler delivered four seasons over .500, though no NCAA Tournament bids. What resulted from Fowler’s tenure was perhaps the worst thing that’s happened to a D1 basketball program.

Star player Hot Rod Williams was one of four members of the Green Wave who were accepting money and drugs to fix games. While a federal case led to nothing, with Williams having an extensive NBA career, Tulane responded accordingly by disbanding the basketball program and dismissing Fowler and other members of the athletics staff. The program returned four years later under Perry Clark, who led them to those three NCAA Tournament appearances in the ’90s. Fowler rebounded briefly as head coach at Stephen F. Austin, having done significant damage to Tulane athletics.