Stanford men’s basketball has parted ways with head coach Johnny Dawkins, the program announced Monday afternoon.
After eight seasons at The Farm, Dawkins ended his career with a 156-115 record, two NIT titles and an appearance in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.
“This decision was not easy and it was a very difficult discussion for both Johnny and me, but like everything else during his tenure at Stanford, he handled it with class, respect and the utmost concern for his student-athletes,” Stanford Athletic Director Bernard Muir said in a statement. “There are so many great things that Johnny was able to accomplish on The Farm, including improving the graduation rate, achieving an Academic Progress Rate of 1000, an NCAA Sweet 16 appearance and two NIT championships. The student-athletes Johnny coached during his tenure at Stanford represented the University with class and humility.”
“I want to thank the Stanford community for playing such an important part in the lives of Tracy [his wife] and I and in the lives of our four children,” Dawkins said in a statement. “While I am disappointed that we could not achieve the desired high level results, I leave proud of the tremendous young men who have given their all to the program and I know the future is bright for Stanford basketball.”
The announcement comes a day after Selection Sunday, when the brackets for the NCAA and NIT tournaments were released. After winning the NIT last season, Stanford, which ended this past season with a 15-15 record and a ninth-place finish in the Pac-12, was left out of this year’s tournament.
After serving as an associate head coach at his alma mater, Duke University, Dawkins came to Stanford in 2008, leading the team to a 20-14 record and to the semifinals of the CBI in his first year as coach. Following two consecutive losing seasons, Dawkins earned his first of two NIT titles in 2012. A deep run in the NCAA Tournament in 2014, which featured upsets over No. 7-seed New Mexico and No. 2-seed Kansas, was sandwiched by two other NIT appearances, the latter resulting in the team’s most recent title.
Under his tenure, Dawkins led Stanford to a 66-78 conference record, with the team’s best finish coming in the 2013-2014 season, when the team finished 10-8 and tied for third place. The program never won more than two games in the conference tournament during Dawkins’ eight years with the team.
Muir will now begin a nationwide search for Dawkins’ replacement, who will be the 18th head coach in Stanford men’s basketball history.
Contact Alexa Philippou at aphil723 ‘at’ stanford.edu.