Ross Hodge's Focus Turns Completely to WVU as North Texas Falls in NIT Semifinals

The Mean Green fell short of the NIT championship on Tuesday night.

Mar 15, 2025; Fort Worth, TX, USA; North Texas Mean Green head coach Ross Hodge reacts against the UAB Blazers during the first half at Dickies Arena. Mandatory Credit: Chris Jones-Imagn Images | Chris Jones-Imagn Images

When West Virginia and Ross Hodge agreed to a contract, the 44-year-old coach had a decision to make: leave in the middle of an NIT run or work two jobs for a week to ten days.

Hodge chose the latter, which earned a lot of respect from the Mountaineer fan base, especially after former head coach Darian DeVries left in what some would coin as an "unprofessional" manner. It was a unique situation, and one that I'm not sure has ever happened before. Typically when a coach takes a new job, they remove themselves from the situation to eliminate distractions and pour all of their focus into the job they're taking over.

Hodge wanted to finish what he started at North Texas and while there may have been a bunch of questions pertaining to his new gig heading into the game, it was obvious that his team was locked in and not distracted by his eventual move whatsoever.

The Mean Green jumped out to an early 15-point lead on UC Irvine in the semifinals of the NIT and looked well on their way to advancing to the championship, although there was still a lot of game left. Then, all of a sudden, North Texas' offense dried up in a major way, allowing the Anteaters to tie the game up at halftime.

It was a back-and-forth affair for much of the second half until UC Irvine stretched its lead to as many as six in the final minute. Atin Wright nailed a three at the buzzer, but it was all for not as the Mean Green trailed by five at the time, bringing us to a 69-67 final score.

Now that North Texas' season is officially over, Hodge will make this way to Morgantown, hold an introductory press conference (date TBA), and hit the ground running in the transfer portal.

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