CHICAGO — DePaul fired coach Tony Stubblefield on Monday after failing to turn around a once-proud program that had struggled in recent decades.
In his two-plus seasons under coach Stubblefield, the Blue Demons posted a record of 28-54 overall and 9-38 in Big East play. They are 3-15 and 0-7 in conference play, which will be their fourth straight loss of the season.
Since DePaul defeated the then No. 1 Big East, they have dropped 20 of 21 games against Big East opponents, including the league tournament. 8 Xavier, January 18, 2023. Stubblefield's last game was a loss to Butler on Saturday.
“After evaluating the current state of our men's basketball program, the decision was made to make changes to the head coaching position,” Athletic Director Dwayne Peavy said in a statement. “We would like to thank Coach Stubblefield for his hard work and determination over the past two seasons to advance the basketball program through a new era for DePaul Athletics. Unfortunately, we were not able to achieve that goal. .”
Matt Brady, special assistant to the head coach, will serve on an interim basis.
Stubblefield, a longtime assistant under Dana Altman at the University of Oregon, made Peavy his first major hire to replace Dave Leitao, who was fired in April 2021. But they couldn't revive the program that once dominated Chicago winters.
DePaul hasn't appeared in the NCAA Tournament since 2004, Leitao's first tenure leading the Blue Demons. They have finished with a losing record in Big East play in all but one season since entering the league in 2005, and despite Chicago's fertile recruiting ground, have finished with the conference's worst record for the 12th time in 16 years. They are likely to finish in the bottom.
It has also been overshadowed by Loyola Chicago, another Catholic school on the city's North Side, for the past few seasons. The Ramblers reached the Final Four in 2018, advanced to the Sweet 16 in 2021 and made it to the NCAA Tournament in 2022.
