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Air Force Parts With Men’s Basketball Coach Joe Scott Amid Player Treatment Investigation
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Air Force and men’s basketball coach Joe Scott have decided to mutually part ways, the school announced on Friday.
Scott was in his sixth season leading the Falcons following a first stint as Air Force’s head coach from 2000 to ‘04. He was suspended indefinitely last month pending an investigation into the treatment of cadet-athletes.
"Coach Scott's passion for the game of basketball has long been evident in his competitive and direct coaching style. It was this coaching style that guided Air Force Basketball to some of the program's most memorable achievements during his initial tenure at the Air Force Academy," athletics director Nathan Pine said in a statement issued by the school. "This is a different day, and now is the right time for a new voice and a new approach to drive the culture and success of the men's basketball program, aligned with the Air Force Academy's mission of forging leaders of character developed to lead in our Air Force and Space Force. We thank Coach Scott for his 10 years of service to the Academy and wish him and his family well."
In his first stint, Scott led Air Force to the NCAA tournament in 2004—the program’s first trip to the tournament since the early 1960s. He went to Princeton after the NCAA tournament season where he spent three years as the Tigers’ head coach. Scott coached the University of Denver for nine seasons before he went back to Air Force. He has a 281-360 record as a head coach and a 97-183 record over the two stints at Air Force.
"I thank Nate Pine for his leadership. The Air Force Academy gave me my first head coaching opportunity and I am forever grateful. We will always be fans of Air Force Basketball," Scott said in a statement.
This season, the Falcons are 3-23 and 0-15 in Mountain West play, squarely at the bottom of the conference. Air Force hasn’t finished above .500 since the 2012-13 season and has not made the Big Dance since 2006. Now, the program looks for a new voice to lead a turnaround.
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Blake Silverman is a contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in November 2024, he covered the WNBA, NBA, G League and college basketball for numerous sites, including Winsidr, SB Nation's Detroit Bad Boys and A10Talk. He graduated from Michigan State University before receiving a master's in sports journalism from St. Bonaventure University. Outside of work, he's probably binging the latest Netflix documentary, at a yoga studio or enjoying everything Detroit sports. A lifelong Michigander, he lives in suburban Detroit with his wife, young son and their personal petting zoo of two cats and a dog.
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