Scott Pera fired after seven seasons as Rice head men’s basketball coach

Scott Pera has been fired after seven seasons as head men’s basketball coach at Rice, the school announced on Thursday. Pera went 96-127 during his tenure, finishing over .500 just twice. The Owls were eliminated from the AAC Tournament on Wednesday and finished 11-21 for the season.

“I appreciate the efforts of Scott and his staff and their dedication to their student-athletes, but over the course of this season, it became apparent to me that a change in the leadership of our men’s basketball team was needed for it to become a championship-caliber program,” said AD Tommy McClelland. “President DesRoches and the Board of Trustees have shown a great desire for this program to take its place among the best in the AAC and agreed with my assessment that a coaching change was the appropriate step towards reaching that goal.”

Pera led the Owls to the CBI in both 2022 and 2023 but never to the NCAA Tournament. The program moved to the AAC from CUSA starting this year, an increase in competition that makes the job more difficult but also should attract some strong candidates for his replacement.

credit to Rice Athletics for image