Tech fires basketball coach - The Roanoke Times
Hussey didn't toe bottom line - Jack Bogaczyk, The Roanoke Times
Empty seats cost Hussey his chair - The Richmond Times-Dispatch
Firing was disposal of a hand-me-down - Bob Lipper, The Richmond Times-Dispatch

In a move that wasn't totally surprising, but one that I didn't expect to happen this year, Virginia Tech dismissed head coach Bobby Hussey on Monday and will start a search for his replacement immediately.

In a world where the Internet spreads news and rumors like wild fire, the fact that this was coming was almost completely bottled up. An on-line site called HoopScoop reported about a week ago that Hussey was on the way out, and that Delaware coach Mike Brey was being looked at by Tech. But I didn't hear a thing - not a thing - about Hussey's firing being imminent.

In addition to the HoopScoop report, the only speculation I heard on the Hussey situation came from a HokieCentral member who attended the ACC men's tournament and did some digging among well-connected Duke fans to find out some info.

He told me only that "there might be some credence to the Brey rumor" and added that he discovered that Coach K at Duke had warned Brey off of the Vanderbilt job (Brey later removed his name from consideration), but had told him that Virginia Tech might be a good opportunity, a place where a coach with the right system could win.

Note that there's nothing concrete about Hussey in there, but it's interesting that according to this well-connected source, Coach K and Mike Brey were discussing Tech.

It's a sad situation, when an athletic director feels that he has to fire a hard-working man who plays by the rules and desperately wants to win. Even in the coaching profession, where firings are routine, it's unsettling to think of a man being out of work. I'm sure that Jim Weaver, who is a hard-nosed businessman, regretted having to do this, even though he thought it was best for Tech.

I've worked with many lazy, do-nothing slugs who keep their jobs for 30 years, so it's understandably troubling to think of a hard-working man being fired from his job. If you've ever been out of work (and I have), you know what I mean. It has been a hard year for Coach Hussey, who lost his brother to cancer during this past season, and I wish him and his family the best.

In his press-conference quotes, Mr. Weaver presented the firing as a business decision. From The Roanoke Times:

"It became apparent this past season that the Virginia Tech program no longer held the respect of its fan base," athletic director Jim Weaver said at a news conference called suddenly for 4 p.m. "This was evidenced by the poorest attendance in the 38-year history of Cassell Coliseum. Ticket revenue from men's basketball will be substantially off this fiscal year. In this decision, the department recognizes the integral role men's basketball plays in funding the entire intercollegiate athletics program at Virginia Tech."

In my recent Special Feature, I said that I didn't think Jim Weaver would fire Bobby Hussey this year, because if he did, he would have to pay off the remaining two years of Bobby's contract at $140,000 per year, for a total of $280,000. A message board poster (I believe it was Rusty) ran the numbers and correctly pointed out that a mere 2,000 additional fans per game, at $10 a ticket, for 14 games, would make that up - in one year.

I also said that it was a question of honoring a man's contract. Another poster pointed out that dismissing a coach and buying out the remainder of his contract is honoring it. Firing him and refusing to pay is not honoring it. Tech reportedly will pay Bobby for the last two years of his contract, so they have honored it, to the letter if not the spirit. Again, good point.

I'm not surprised by the firing, but the timing is earlier than I expected, and there are two things I have to say about that.

Number one, I wonder if there is some credence to the rumor that Tech will be admitted into the Big East this spring, and I wonder if Jim Weaver pulled the trigger now because he wants to go looking for a new coach, and he wants to be able to use Big East basketball membership as the carrot to attract a new coach to Blacksburg.

Number two, Mr. Weaver told Jeff White of The Richmond Times-Dispatch in a March 16^th article that he didn't know of a reason why Hussey wouldn't return for his third season:

Asked whether there is any reason to believe Hussey wouldn’t return for his third season at Tech, Weaver said, "Not that I know of."

It disturbs me that Mr. Weaver said that and then fired Hussey just a week later, but even more disturbing is that the media is reporting that during yesterday's press conference, Mr. Weaver said that he had made his mind up "several weeks ago," but had not done it at the end of the season because he didn't want to "distract attention from the successful late-season run of the Hokie women's team" (according to Justin Ditmore of Channel 10).

Simply put, Mr. Weaver said one thing while he was thinking another, and that's the first time I can remember him doing that, to my knowledge.

One more thought: if Bobby Hussey had coached next year, he might have been able to put together a 16- to 18-win season, and it's difficult to fire a coach who wins more games than he loses. I'm guessing that Jim, who has done a lot of things here but has never hired a coach, had decided that he wanted to move in another direction, and he felt that the timing was best now.

Me personally, I have nothing against Bobby Hussey, but I'm glad to see that something is changing (other than players transferring out). I love Virginia Tech basketball, and I want to see a return to the prominence we enjoyed in the 1980's. I also trust Jim Weaver to make a good move in hiring a new coach, so, as Mr. Weaver himself says, I'm "cautiously optimistic" about the future of men's basketball. It's going to be a few painful years ahead, but then hopefully, things will begin to improve.

Just when you thought there was nothing to talk about (except Spring football, of course), the rumor mill and the speculation will now officially begin.

Again, good luck to Bobby, his family, and his staff, and it's time to move on.

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