Butler fires head coach LaVall Jordan after five seasons

On3 imageby:Nick Schultz•04/01/22•

NickSchultz_7

Butler last played a basketball game on March 10 in the Big East Tournament. Three weeks later, the Bulldogs are looking for a new coach.

LaVall Jordan is out as Butler’s head coach after five years, athletic director Barry Collier announced Friday. The decision comes after Jordan’s buyout dropped “significantly,” according to Stadium’s Jeff Goodman.

“After a thorough evaluation, I have come to the decision that a change in the leadership of our men’s basketball program is needed,” Collier in a statement. “These decisions are never easy, but are incredibly more difficult when it impacts a high-character Bulldog who has represented our university so well for many years. I want to thank LaVall for his dedication to our program, and we wish him and his family all the best moving forward.”

Jordan took over the Butler program in 2017 after Chris Holtmann departed for Ohio State. In his five years at the helm, Jordan amassed an 83-73 record, including 40-54 in Big East action. This past year, the Bulldogs went 14-18 overall and 6-14 in conference play. They fell to Providence in the Big East quarterfinals after beating Xavier in double overtime in the first round.

More on LaVall Jordan, Butler

Jordan played basketball at Butler from 1997-2001 and played a year in the NBA G League before diving into college coaching. Butler gave him his start as an assistant from 2003-07 under Todd Lickliter, and he followed Lickliter to Iowa from 2007-10. That’s when John Beilein came calling at Michigan, and Jordan served as an assistant with the Wolverines from 2010-16.

Jordan got his first head coaching opportunity in 2016 at Wisconsin-Milwaukee and had an 11-24 record, including 4-14 mark in Horizon League play, in his lone season with the Panthers. That’s when Butler called him to replace Holtmann.

Butler made it to one NCAA Tournament under Jordan, and that happened in his first season. The Bulldogs could’ve had a shot at the 2020 tournament, but it ended up getting canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.