Earlier this week, Mark Harlan was named as the new University of South Florida Athletic Director.
One of his first jobs is going to be finding a replacement for men's basketball coach Stan Heath, who was fired just two days after the Bulls season ended with its ninth straight loss.
USF announced the move in a three-paragraph statement Friday afternoon.
University of South Florida Athletics announced Friday men’s basketball coach Stan Heath has been relieved of his duties. Heath was 97-130 in seven seasons at USF, including 12-20 this past season. Coach Heath’s dedication to USF student-athletes and the many positives he brought to the program are appreciated. Incoming Director of Athletics Mark Harlan will lead a national search for a replacement.
The Tampa Bay Times reports it's unclear how much input Harlan had in the decision to fire Heath, who coached USF for seven seasons.
According to terms of Heath's extension, the school must pay his annual base salary of $375,000 — about one-third of his compensation — for the remaining four years for a total of $1.5 million.
Heath led the Bulls to only two post-season tournaments, the NIT after the 2009-2010 and the NCAA in 2011-12. That team posted the program's first two NCAA tournament wins, but the Bulls only posted 12 wins in each of the two seasons since then.
