Fran Fraschilla resigned as head coach of the UNM men's basketball team Sunday after one of the most tumultuous seasons in Lobo basketball history, citing insurmountable negative public opinion and intense media scrutiny.
Appearing at a press conference alongside Fraschilla, Athletics Director Rudy Davalos said he met with Fraschilla Saturday night to discuss the direction of the program. Davalos said that minutes into the meeting, it was clear that he and Fraschilla were on the same page.
"He was disappointed, just like I was disappointed, that the basketball program had not progressed like we both had wanted it to progress and like our fans wanted it to progress," Davalos said. "Basically, he said he was prepared to resign. And I felt like, at the time, and where we were with our program, that I concurred with him, and accepted his resignation."
The decision comes on the heels of the Lobos' disastrous 96-62 loss to the University of Minnesota Thursday in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament. It was the worst postseason loss in UNM's history and gave the Lobos a final record of 16-14, their worst since the 1995 team went 15-15 under Dave Bliss.
It also was a season that saw the departure of point guard Marlon Parmer, who said Fraschilla had verbally abused him, and infighting among the players plagued the team. His three-year tenure as head coach also saw nine players leave the program, some of them citing verbal abuse by Fraschilla.
Fraschilla said the expectations after last year's run in the Mountain West Tournament, during which the Lobos narrowly missed winning the title and an NCAA Tournament automatic berth, made dealing with the adversity of this year very difficult.
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"I think it's just time for the University to move on and for me to move on," Fraschilla said. "I think (it was) the combination of some bad luck; some things didn't go the way we wanted them to go, and probably two or three different outcomes during the season and we probably wouldn't be here."
Fraschilla also said public scrutiny and the Lobos' tough schedule helped make things difficult for the team.
"I'm very proud of the efforts the kids made under some trying times, under the watchful eye of people here - you guys, the media," Fraschilla said. "We ended up at one point last week with the 23rd toughest schedule in the country. And that's partly my fault because I think that's the direction the program needs to go in terms of playing those types of teams."
This year, the Lobos played several teams that made the NCAA Tournament, including Stanford University, the University of California and Gonzaga University in non-conference games, and the University of Wyoming, the University of Utah and San Diego State University during Mountain West Conference play. UNM went 1-9 in those games.
And the Lobos finished 6-8 in conference play, their second losing conference record during Fraschilla's three-year tenure. In Fraschilla's first year, the team finished 9-5 in the conference, good for third place, but bowed out of the conference tournament in the first round. An NIT invite followed.
Several current Lobos, including junior point guard Senque Carey and junior post Moustapha Diagne were at the press conference, but Fraschilla said the players did not know in advance about his resignation.
"I haven't had a chance to talk to them yet. I know the assistant coaches have tried to call them today," Fraschilla said, "and I'll definitely talk to them within the next 24 hours. And let me say that there's a solid nucleus here. They're good kids. The next coach will probably have it a little easier because they'll be the anti-Fran a little bit, but I'll root like heck for the Lobos."
Davalos said the search for a new coach will begin immediately and said it was unlikely that any current UNM assistant coaches would be looked at.
"We would prefer to get an established coach from the Division-I level," Davalos said. "I don't want to put a timetable on it. We have an A list and a B list and even a C list, but we're not looking forward to the C list."
Fraschilla ends his UNM career with a 55-41 record, having guided the Lobos to three straight NIT appearances.
