Mercer men’s basketball coach Bob Hoffman fired after losing season
The Mercer Bears have parted ways with head coach Bob Hoffman after finishing the season 11-20 and losing to Furman in the team’s first game of the SoCon Tournament.
The announcement was made Monday morning in a press release from Mercer Athletics.
“Coach Hoffman has made an indelible mark on the Mercer basketball program,” Mercer Athletic Director Jim Cole said in the release. “Bob always ran his program and mentored his student-athletes in a first-class manner that represented our university well.”
After Saturday’s loss to Furman, Cole told the Telegraph he had not had discussions with Hoffman about his future with the team.
Cole said that he has a meeting with every Mercer coach at the end of their athletic team’s season to recap the year and discuss the future of the team and planned to have one with Hoffman as well.
“Right now we are just excited for the women’s game tomorrow,” Cole said.
Hoffman reached over 200 wins during his time at Mercer. Since Hoffman took over in 2008, no other program in the state has had as many wins as the Bears.
His crowning achievement was five seasons ago when the Bears knocked off powerhouse Duke in the round of 64 of the NCAA Tournament.
He also lead Mercer to wins in the NIT, CBI and CIT Tournaments while at Mercer.
A national search for the Bears’ next head coach is underway.
The Telegraph reached out to Hoffman for comment but received no response as of press time.
Hoffman shared a statement via Twitter Monday afternoon in which he thanked players, coaches and staff members who helped build the program over his 11 years at the helm.
“While I’m proud of our wins, championships and postseason success, what I’ll cherish the most are the relationships formed and the players we’ve impacted over the years,” Hoffman said. “It’s because of the Mercer University alumni and the Middle Georgia fan base the (sic) we were able to do more than previously imagined.”
This story was originally published March 11, 2019 at 10:14 AM.