The head coach of Utah State’s women’s basketball team Kayla Ard found out she was fired after her team’s 85-49 loss to Boise State and just before the school trotted her out for a press conference Sunday night.
“I’m not going to be rebuilding. I just coached my last game at Utah State. I spoke with [athletic director] Diana [Sabau] and they’re going in a different direction I respect her decision and I hope they get a really good coach in,” Ard told the press, replying to a question about rebuilding for next season.
There was a stunned silence in the press room before Ard closed with, “I’m assuming that’s gonna be the last question.”
This is crazy! After the Utah State women lost tonight, coach Kayla Ard was asked how they rebuild next season – and she says she just got fired. Never seen anything like this.
“I’m assuming that’s going to be the last question?”
(Video courtesy of The Mountain West) pic.twitter.com/j9yjcMAbjD
— B.J. Rains (@BJRains) March 11, 2024
Insanity. Who thought it was a good idea to fire this woman right before she was set to speak to the press? I don’t blame her for answering the question the way she did. What did the school expect her to say? (RELATED: The Madness Continues: College Basketball Team Hits Magical Buzzer-Beater To Punch Tickets To Championship Game)
It’s the definition of unprofessional. After the awkward press conference, the school’s athletic director announced the decision. “We appreciate everything Kayla and her staff have contributed to Utah State,” Sabau wrote. “However, it is in the best interest of the program to make a change.”
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Let’s go behind-the-scenes and get mic’d up with Coach @Kayla_Ard!#ncaaW | 🎥 @USUWBasketballpic.twitter.com/ODQHd9M4JD
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessWBB) July 22, 2020
“They love basketball, they compete, and they have a chip on their shoulder”
– Coach @Kayla_Ard on this year’s team #AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/2M4R5YOp6C
— USU Women’s Hoops (@USUWBasketball) October 11, 2023
All that is well and good. Ard probably deserved to get canned. In her four seasons helming the Aggies she never had a winning record and she leaves the school with a pretty poor 24-90 record. But still… to have her announce her own firing to the press is totally demeaning. Somebody screwed up in a big way.