Dan McHale fired as Eastern Kentucky HC

Eastern Kentucky has fired head basketball coach Dan McHale after three seasons. The Colonels were 38-55 (16-34) during that tenure, failing to qualify for the Ohio Valley Tournament for three straight years.

McHale came to EKU from Minnesota, where he spent two seasons assisting Richard Pitino. He also spent time working for Kevin Willard and Rick Pitino during his early coaching career.

EKU AD Stephen Lochmueller, who hired McHale nearly three years ago, had this to say in a statement on Monday: “After reviewing our men’s basketball program, I determined a change in leadership is needed at this time. We want to thank Dan McHale for his service to Eastern Kentucky University, our community and the men’s basketball program.”

The official release from the school went on to point out that EKU had been to 13 straight OVC Tournaments prior to 2015, winning the event three times for three trips to the NCAA Tournament. Previous Colonels coach Jeff Neubauer left for the same position at Fordham following the 2014-15 season.