Miami Cage Coach to Quit; Pressed by Lagging Fan Support

Miami basketball Coach Bill Foster announced plans to step down at the end of this season after helping to resurrect the Hurricane program.

“My decision doesn’t have anything to do with how well this team does this year,” Foster said Monday night in a news conference after Miami’s 95-93 overtime loss to Australia’s Westside Melbourne in an exhibition game. “I’ve simply made up my mind that it’s the best thing for me personally to make a change.”

Foster, who has a 65-56 record at the school, said he has enjoyed coaching the Hurricanes and has made no definite plans.

“There are two or three options out there for me,” he said. “I’m not sure where I’ll end up.”

Foster, 53, who is in the last year of his contract, had said earlier that he wanted to make a decision this month so his future with Miami would not be in doubt during the season.

In 1985, Foster resurrected a Miami program that had been disbanded in 1971 because of financial problems. The Hurricanes have increased their victory total each season under Foster--from 14, 15 and 17 to a 19-12 record last season. But attendance has stalled at less than 3,000 per game, and the Hurricanes are still looking for their first postseason bid since 1963.