Iowa to Dismiss Coach Fran McCaffery After 15 Seasons

The combustible coach is the winningest in the Hawkeyes' history.

Fran McCaffery's tenure at Iowa appears to have come to a close. / Grace Smith/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

After 15 entertaining years, coach Fran McCaffery's tenure at Iowa appears to have come to a close.

The Hawkeyes are dismissing McCaffery, according to a Friday afternoon report from Pete Thamel of ESPN. McCaffery, 65, is the winningest coach in Iowa's history—but his winning percentage had declined for four consecutive seasons.

A fixture of Big Ten basketball for nearly a generation, McCaffery was renowned with the Hawkeyes for his uptempo style and combustible on-court personality (if Thamel's report is confirmed, McCaffery was thrown out of his final game Thursday).

Iowa lured McCaffery away from Siena before the 2011 season; the Hawkeyes wound up making seven NCAA tournaments under his leadership. His best year in Iowa City came in 2021, when Iowa went 22-9 and spent all but two weeks of the season in the AP top 10.

Sources: Iowa is set to dismiss basketball coach Fran McCaffery after 15 seasons. He reached seven NCAA tournaments in his 15 years and is the school’s all-time leader in wins with 297. Iowa finished 17-16 this year. pic.twitter.com/ihZF39otFx

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) March 14, 2025

Before his hiring by the Hawkeyes, McCaffery coached Lehigh, UNC Greensboro and the Saints, which he took to a combined five NCAA tournaments.

His Iowa team went 17-16 in 2025, its lowest winning percentage since 2018.

---

More College Basketball on Sports Illustrated

feed