After four seasons at the helm of Georgia’s men’s basketball program, head coach Tom Crean has been fired. The announcement came on Thursday evening, a day after Georgia’s season ended with an 86-51 loss to Vanderbilt in the SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament.

The move comes as no surprise following a 6-26 overall record to finish the 2021-22 season, the worst record in the history of the program. The Bulldogs managed only one win in conference play, finishing an abysmal 1-17 against SEC opposition this season.

“Tom Crean demonstrated unquestionable effort and enthusiasm in what he has attempted to accomplish at Georgia,” Georgia AD Josh Brooks said. “That said, our expectation is to compete for postseason success in all 21 sports. We believe a leadership change in men’s basketball is needed to achieve our goals.”

Crean finishes his tenure at Georgia with a 47-75 overall record that includes a 15-57 mark in SEC play. Crean’s hiring was meant to represent a major upgrade for Georgia basketball and to help establish the program as a legitimate contender for deep postseason runs.

Crean’s recruiting was a strength when he arrived, as he helped Georgia land the 11th ranked class in the nation in the 2019 cycle. 5-star recruit Anthony Edwards headlined the class along with four 4-star recruits, but in Edwards’ only season in Athens the Bulldogs finished 16-12 and failed to make the NCAA tournament.

The program has endured high levels of dysfunction in recent years, including a mass exodus of nine players following the 2020-21 season and reports of an investigation into the culture of Crean’s program earlier this season.

Georgia will begin a search for its next head coach immediately.

Printed with permission from the Red & Black independent student media organization based in Athens, Georgia; redandblack.com/sports