CORVALLIS, Ore. — Oregon State University fired basketball coach Jay John, whose team is 6-12 this season and winless in the Pac-10. Attendance is reaching record lows at Gill Coliseum and the school has had only one winning season since 1989-90.
Assistant Kevin Mouton will temporarily run the team after the rare midseason coaching change, which was announced Sunday night by athletic director Bob De Carolis. De Carolis did not rule out Mouton as a permanent replacement.
John, in his sixth season, received a five-year contract extension in 2005. Oregon State owes him about $1.1 million.
“Sometimes things just don’t work out and that’s the case here,” De Carolis said. “We needed to move on. I think the weight of some of the speculation of whether it was going to happen, when it was going to happen, started weighing heavily on John and his family.”
John did not have a chance to meet with the team Sunday night. He had a record of 72-97 and a conference mark of 26-68, including 0-6 this season. The Beavers, however, showed some grit in nearly upsetting Washington on Saturday.
De Carolis said he discussed the team’s performance with John after last season when the Beavers finished 11-21 and 3-15 in the Pac-10.
“I always like to look at the total body of work,” the athletic director said. “And I really just didn’t see where it was going.”
John came to Oregon State in 2002 after four seasons as an assistant coach under Lute Olson at Arizona. John, in a statement, thanked De Carolis, Oregon State president Ed Ray and others for their support over his six years. He led the 2004-05 team to a winning season and an NIT berth.
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