What happens when college head coaches get suspended
Urban Meyer is among the highest-profile coaches to ever be sidelined by a school investigation. Here’s a recent history.
Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer is on administrative leave as the university investigates how he handled domestic violence allegations against former assistant Zach Smith. The school stated it expects be done with its investigation in 14 days on Aug. 5.
Although we don’t know yet if the investigation will result in a comeback, a suspension, or a firing, let’s look at Division I football and men’s basketball head coaches who have been suspended since 2010 or so, to at least get a feel for what’s been done in the past.
College football
Stephen F. Austin head coach Clint Conque
Suspended in June 2018, following an investigation into alleged violations of university policy. There has been no change to his status, less than a month before the Lumberjack’s Week 1 game.
New Mexico head coach Bob Davie
Davie was suspended without pay for 30 days after the university investigated claims that the head coach and his staff obstructed cases involving some of his players. His suspension came in February 2018 right after National Signing Day, so he didn’t miss too much.
Liberty head coach Turner Gill
Gill and assistant Ron Brown served one-game suspensions separately in October 2016 for a secondary NCAA violation. Gill’s still there, and Brown is now at Nebraska.
Former Rutgers head coach Kyle Flood
In September 2015, Rutgers suspended Flood for three games and fined him $50,000. Flood allegedly talked with a professor about one of his players’ eligiblity. Flood was fired near the end of the season, after compiling a 27-24 overall record.
Former Arkansas head coach Bobby Petrino
In April 2012, Petrino was placed on administrative leave following a motorcycle accident involving athletic department employee Jessica Dorrell. He admitted the two had an “inappropriate relationship,” and Petrino was fired a few days later. After his one season away, WKU and then Louisville hired him as head coach.
Former Wyoming head coach Dave Christensen
Suspended for one game in 2012 following an outburst in which he ripped into Air Force coach Troy Calhoun. He called Calhoun “Mister f****** Howdy Doody,” among other things. He resigned in 2013 after a 27-35 record over five years and is now the offensive line coach at Arizona State.
Former Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel
In March 2011, Tressel got a five-game suspension amid his coverup of players selling memorabilia and tattoos. In May 2011, Tressel resigned, and was given a five-year show-cause penalty by the NCAA. He’s now the president at Youngstown State.
Former Missouri head coach Gary Pinkel
Suspended for one game in 2011 after was arrested for a DWI, and his salary was frozen for a year. After four more seasons and two SEC East championships, he retired in 2015 due to lymphoma.
College basketball
Former University of San Diego head coach Lamont Smith
Suspended after he was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence, in February 2018. Ten days later, he resigned. He was never charged and has since been hired by UTEP as an assistant.
Former Iowa State and Colorado State head coach Larry Eustachy
In February 2018, Eustachy was placed on administrative leave as the school investigated claims that he screamed profanities and singled out players at practice. He resigned on Feb. 28. Interim head coach Steve Barnes was also placed on leave.
That wasn’t the only time Eustachy was suspended — when he was the Iowa State head coach in 2003, he was suspended and later fired after pictures of him kissing college-aged women surfaced, and later resigned.
Albany head coach Will Brown
In November 2017, Brown and his associate head coach John Iati were suspended for one game for a recruiting violation. He’s still the Great Danes’ head coach.
Former Louisville head coach Rick Pitino
In June 2017, Pitino was suspended five games over the sex scandal that first surfaced in 2015, in which the program allegedly “paid escorts to dance for and have sex with players and recruits.”
In September of the same year, when Louisville was named in the FBI scandal, he was suspended and subsequently fired in October. He has since sued the school for breach of contract.
Prairie View A&M head coach Byron Smith
In January 2017, Smith served a one-game suspension after committing a secondary NCAA violation. He is still the Panthers head coach.
Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim
Suspended in March 2015 for nine ACC games, following an eight-year NCAA investigation. The NCAA punished Syracuse for “a lack of institutional control” from 2000-01 through 2011-12. It took away 12 scholarships, and the Orange had to vacate 108 wins — all of them under Boeheim.
Boeheim was supposed to retire after the 2018 season, but it seems as if he’s not going away just yet.
Former Rutgers head coach Mike Rice
In December 2012, Rutgers suspended Rice for three games without pay and fined him $50,000 related to inappropriate behavior and language. Four months later, the video that caused the initial suspension became public, showing the coach verbally abusing and throwing basketballs at players, and he was fired.
From 2015-17, he coached high school basketball in New Jersey, but was not retained after 2017.
Former Tennessee head coach Bruce Pearl
In 2010, Pearl was suspended for the first eight SEC games for violating NCAA rules and misleading investigators. In March 2011, Pearl was fired after additional recruiting violations were discovered.
He was hit with a three-year show-cause penalty by the NCAA, but accepted the Auburn head coaching job in March 2014, though he couldn’t recruit until Aug. 24, 2014 because of the penalty.