$4.2 Million College Basketball Coach Placed Firmly on Hot Seat

Originally posted on Athlon Sports
By Kevin Matthew Borba | Last updated Mar 5, 2026 3:11 PM ET

With the NCAA Tournament rapidly approaching, college basketball is also expected to see quite a few coaching changes this offseason.

CBS Sports' Matt Norlander reported that he expects as many as 50 coaching changes by the end of the month. While many of these changes will be coaches elevating from lower-level programs, Norlander did reveal that he expects one of the highest-paid coaches in college basketball to not be brought back for next season.

The coach in question is Arizona State's Bobby Hurley, who has led the team to a 16-14 record this season.

"There is no doubt here," Norlander wrote. "Bobby Hurley is coaching out the string at Arizona State on the final year of his contract and will leave Tempe after 11 seasons. All told, Hurley is the second-best ASU coach in history both in terms of total wins and NCAA Tournament appearances (he made runs in 2018, 2019 and 2023). It's time for a change, and agents in the industry have been bracing for the vacancy for essentially a year."

Arizona State head coach Bobby Hurley talks with guard Adam Miller (44).© Patrick Breen/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Hurley has shown the ability to attract top talent, bringing in nine of the program's 10 highest-ranked recruits in program history. However, the Sun Devils haven't made the tournament since 2022-23, and have finished below .500 in five of the last seven years.

Luckily for Arizona State, which would have to pay Hurley a $4.2 million buyout if they fired him, they can simply not renew his contract after the year.

It's unclear whether a magical run in the Big 12 Tournament and possibly the NCAA Tournament would move the needle at all for the decision-makers, but we do have a pretty significant sample size for Hurley to know what he is.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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