Watch: Utah State HC reveals during postgame interview that she was just fired
It was a brutal 2023-24 season for Kayla Ard's Utah State women's basketball team and a rough four-season run at the helm for the 40-year-old.
Ard's tenure with the Aggies ended on Sunday, immediately following the team's 85-49 blowout loss to Boise State in the opening round of the Mountain West Conference Tournament. The school still sent Ard to the postgame news conference, where she informed media members of the program's decision during a response to a question.
Ard showed plenty of poise despite the harsh ending, saying that she respected the decision and hoped they "get a really good coach."
The gig at Utah State was Ard's first full-time college head-coaching job after she served as the interim leader for the University of Denver at the end of the 2019-2020 campaign.
The Aggies finished in last place in the Mountain West Conference in three of Ard's four seasons and came in ninth during the 2021-22 campaign, when they went 11-19. Utah State was 4-20 in the 2020-21 season, 4-26 last year and 5-25 this season.
Ard finished her run with the program at just 24-90 (.211 winning percentage) and with a 10-62 mark in conference play.
"We appreciate everything Kayla and her staff have contributed to Utah State," Athletics Director Diana Sabau said. "However, it is in the best interest of the program to make a change."
Three of the team's five wins this season were decided by three points or less, while it suffered 11 losses by at least 25 points. The Aggies 56.2 points per game were 330th in the country, while their 74.0 points per game allowed were 343rd.
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