WSU

Washington State fires Ken Bone

Mar 18, 2014, 11:43 AM | Updated: 12:42 pm

By Brady Henderson

Washington State has fired mens basketball coach Ken Bone after five seasons.

The move, first reported by Jeff Goodman of ESPN, has since been confirmed by athletic director Bill Moos. In a press release, Moos said he informed Bone of the decision Tuesday morning.

“I appreciate what Ken has done for Cougar Basketball, leading us to the postseason twice in the last four years, and I thanked him for his service to WSU,” Moos said. “But at this point we need to revitalize our fan base, particularly our student body, and position this program to compete for championships.”

The Cougars finished the season 10-21 after a first-round elimination in the Pac-12 Tournament last week. It was their second straight losing season under Bone, who has a career record at Washington State of 80-86. His tenure included trips to the NIT seminfals in 2011 and the CBI finals the following year. He leaves with the sixth-most wins in school history.

Moos said the search for Bone’s replacement will begin immediately and that he expects to name a new head coach as soon as possible.

Bone was an assistant at Washington and then the head coach at Portland State before replacing Tony Bennett at Washington State in 2009.

WSU

UW Huskies WSU Cougars Pac-12 Apple Cup...

Brandon Gustafson

Huard’s Reaction: WSU’s Pat Chun was hire UW ‘needed to make’

"For the University of Washington, he's a tremendous hire," Brock Huard said of new UW Huskies athletic director Pat Chun.

2 days ago

UW Huskies AD WSU Pat Chun apple cup...

Brandon Gustafson

UW Huskies hire Pat Chun as next athletic director from rival WSU

The next UW Huskies athletic director is Pat Chun, who comes to Washington after serving as AD at rival school WSU since 2018.

2 days ago

WSU Kyle Smith Myles Rice Cougars...

Josh Dubow

Kyle Smith leaves WSU to be Stanford basketball coach

Stanford has hired Kyle Smith away from the WSU Cougars to take over its struggling men’s basketball program.

3 days ago

WSU Cougars Iowa State NCAA Tournament...

The Associated Press

Iowa St pulls away late to beat WSU 67-56 for spot in Sweet 16

Iowa State cranked up the second-half pressure against WSU, and the No. 2 seed Cyclones marched into their seventh Sweet 16 with a 67-56 victory over the seventh-seeded Cougars in the NCAA Tournament.

5 days ago

WSU Isaac Jones...

Eric Olson

WSU star Isaac Jones went from loading trucks to playing for Sweet 16 spot

WSU forward Isaac Jones went from loading trucks to a junior college to starring for a WSU Cougars team fighting for a Sweet 16 berth.

5 days ago

WSU Cougars NCAA Tournament Isaiah Watts Jaylen Wells...

Eric Olson

WSU Cougars survive maddening 2nd half, beat Drake 66-61

Isaac Jones had 20 points and 11 rebounds, and seventh-seeded WSU took the lead with 1:51 left to beat No. 10 Drake 66-61 in the NCAA Tournament.

7 days ago

Washington State fires Ken Bone