Eastern Michigan University’s men basketball team is going to have a new coach for the 2011-12 season.
Athletic Director Derrick Gragg announced yesterday morning that head coach Charles Ramsey, 50, has been fired.
“After thorough and extensive review, I have determined that it is in the best interests of the Eastern Michigan University men’s basketball program to change direction,” Gragg told EMUEagles.com.
“Charles Ramsey has worked hard and had some accomplishments along the way, particularly in the academic success rates of our student athletes,” he said. “He has many strong qualities and we wish him success in his future.”
Ramsey is an alumnus of EMU and just finished his sixth season as head coach for the Eagles. Ramsey called it a “dream job” for him at his first press conference as the head coach on March 30, 2005.
“I will always have a love for this campus and the people that have been supportive in my coaching,” Ramsey said.
Ramsey said he was thankful for the opportunity to work as a head coach for the university and has no regrets regarding his tenure at EMU.
“Zero regrets, none whatsoever,” Ramsey said. “I was able to work with tremendous people.”
Hours after the release of Ramsey, a memorandum by EMU Regent Jim Stapleton was sent to the members of the University Budget Council, causing a debate on how much the move would cost
Stapleton disagreed with firing Ramsey, stating that it was Pres. Martin’s decision.
“I am embarrassed at the shocking lack of sensitivity this decision represents,” Stapleton said in the memorandum.
“At a time where we are struggling to find every available dollar to make our ends meet, to spend one penny on a program that over the next eleven months (which is all we would have had to wait to minimize the financial ramifications of this decision) that is likely not to improve its on-court performance irrespective of who is leading it, reveals a president that either does not care about our financial problems or (worse) really does not understand them.”
Stapleton goes on to state that all the university had to do was wait one more year.
“However, the plain truth is our Men’s Basketball Program over Coach Ramsey’s tenure (while graduating its student athletes and, having them, for the most part, be upstanding members of our Campus Community) has not performed on the Court as well as could and should have been expected,” he said in the memo. “Yet, any notion we are going to get any better over the next eleven months (which is all we had to wait to make a change with minimal financial impact if it merited it) is absurd and, I cannot and will not sit in front of you going forward, as hard as we are all working, and let you think for a minute I support it.”
Ramsey will be paid the final year of his contract, $176,416 and his assistants, who were also fired, will receive one month’s severance pay.
Stapleton is concerned with the cost of paying Ramsey, and the cost of acquiring a new head coach and staff.
Executive Director of Media Relations Geoff Larcom said the costs will come out of the athletic budget.
“The costs associated with job action today are going to be paid out of athletics-related revenue,” he said. “Those costs will be paid out of the remaining balance of game guarantees funds from football and basketball.”
Larcom said the university estimates there will be $220,00 in game guarantees in basketball alone.
“In addition, we will have the Michigan State game being played at home,” he said. “That would be additional revenue. The bottom line is, all of the costs associated will be covered with athletics.”
Some students at EMU don’t seem shocked by Ramsey’s firing.
“When you have the talent and you are not producing, it has to be the coach,” Courtney Jackson, an EMU student, said.
“He had six years, and he had one winning record out of all those years, we are a division one program and we do need to get better. I think, it is best for the program,” EMU student Phillip Joseph said.
While some cared about the team’s performance, others were more concerned with the potential impact on the school’s budget.
“I heard that by firing the EMU basketball coach it is going to cost the school a lot of money because we have to hire somebody else and we owe him plenty on his contract,” Bryan Curlew said (after hearing the news from 97.1 FM The Ticket).
Many of the basketball players had no comment. Though one player, who has choosen to remain anonymous, said: “I’m not coming back next year.”
Many schools have already fired and hired new coaches in the time it took the Eagles to make the decision to fire Ramsey. From a coaching standpoint, the timing couldn’t be worse either. After the Final Four passes (coaches tend to do a lot of networking with one another while in the Final Four city) there generally isn’t much coaching movement.
The Detroit News yesterday that former Iowa head coach Todd Lickliter, former Tennessee associate head coach Tony Jones and Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne head coach Dane Fife are among the candidates who could be considered to take over the job.
Ramsey hopes his replacement will be able to use the foundation he built.
“We take no shortcuts here,” Ramsey said upon his exit. “We have an old-fashion way of working things. Hopefully, whoever they choose to come in they will benefit from what we were able to build here.”
Ramsey has graduated 21 seniors during his tenure at EMU. Ramsey leaves a young Eagles team that has been under his tenure for only a couple of years. Thirteen of Ramsey’s players from this season will be eligible to return and play next season.
Arturo Rodriquez, Jerime Crane, Katrease Stafford and Ryan Larimore contributed to this report.
