Williams out after 19 years as UC Santa Barbara hoops coach

By AP
Published

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (AP) Bob Williams is on his way out after 19 years as basketball coach at UC Santa Barbara.

Athletic director John McCutcheon said Thursday in a statement that Williams won't be retained beyond his current contract.

Williams is the winningest coach in school history with 313 victories and the longest tenured Division I coach west of the Mississippi River, but the Gauchos were 6-22 this season. Williams, the late Jerry Tarkanian at UNLV and Bob Thomason at Pacific are the only coaches in Big West Conference history to reach 300 wins.

McCutcheon said he told Williams on Thursday that he won't return, although he didn't do it in person because McCutcheon is in Anaheim attending the Big West Tournament.

The athletic director said he made the announcement now because of public speculation and potential impact to UCSB's players.

Williams guided the Gauchos to NCAA Tournament appearances in 2002, 2010 and 2011. The 63-year-old coach had a 313-260 career record at UCSB.

Williams has previous coaching stints at UC Davis and Menlo College.