Fraschilla Steps Down
Fran Fraschilla resigned as New Mexico’s basketball coach after a season marked by player discord, fan discontent and a record of barely .500.
Athletic Director Rudy Davalos said Fraschilla quit during a meeting Saturday night. Fraschilla, the former Manhattan and St. John’s coach, became New Mexico’s coach in April 1999.
“The nature of Lobos basketball is high expectations,” Fraschilla said Sunday at a news conference. “Our fans deserve a great team.... I feel like I let Rudy down.”
Last week, New Mexico (16-14) finished its third straight season in the NIT. Minnesota beat the Lobos, 96-62, in the first round.
In Fraschilla’s three seasons, the Lobos finished 55-41, including 21-21 in the Mountain West Conference.
Davalos said New Mexico will honor the remaining two years of Fraschilla’s contract but declined to say how much that will cost the school. He said a search for a new coach has begun.
“It’s time for the school to move on and for me to move on,” Fraschilla said.
Earlier this year, point guard Marlon Parmer quit the team after a 30-point loss to Utah, raising to nine the number of players who left the program since Fraschilla was coach.
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CBS broadcaster Eddie Fogler apologized to the father of Georgia players Jarvis and Jonas Hayes after scrawling profane remarks on a telestrator during the Bulldogs’ loss to Southern Illinois.
During a commercial break late in the second half, Fogler drew a circle around a camera shot of James Hayes. Fogler also scrawled two profanities on the telestrator, along with “me.”
CBS said the national television audience never saw the remarks, which were removed before the network got back from commercial. But they were seen on dozens of United Center monitors throughout the arena.
The Hayes twins played their first season for Georgia after transferring from Western Carolina after the 1999-2000 season.
Fogler--who was coaching at South Carolina at the time of their transfer--said he wrote the comments in jest because James Hayes didn’t call him to let Fogler know the brothers were available.
CBS said it averaged a 6.8 overnight rating with a 15 share for its second-round tournament coverage on Saturday, a 10% increase from a year ago. The featured Duke-Notre Dame game Saturday got a 7.0/17. In Los Angeles, Channel 2 averaged a 3.4/8 for Saturday’s coverage, a 13% increase. Friday’s UCLA-Mississippi game earned a 4.2/7.