Morgan State parting ways with Todd Bozeman

Morgan State declined to renew the contract of head basketball coach Todd Bozeman, who has been at the helm of the Bears program since 2006. After three postseason appearances (two NCAAs) in his first four years, on-court success has been minimal for Bozeman and company.

Bozeman was 195-217 overall in 13 seasons at Morgan, but had not had a winning record since 2013 and was just 9-21 this past year. The back-to-back NCAA Tournaments in 2009 and 2010 were also the last postseason bids of any kid for the program.

The initial hiring of Bozeman came with some controversy, as the coach’s last collegiate job ended with NCAA violations, improper benefits paid by the head coach himself, vacated games and NCAA appearances and ultimately an eight-year “show cause” penalty that kept him out of the college game for a decade.

But Morgan State was willing to take a chance that many other schools were not, making Bozeman (who was just 32 years old when he was fired by Cal in 1996) the first person to get another Division I head coaching job after received a “show cause” penalty.

Early returns were strong, but what was once considered a remarkable career rebirth for Bozeman eventually turned to mediocrity. As the highlights of this decade for Morgan State hoops are two 17-win seasons, athletic director Edward Scott felt it time to make a change.

“Although we are not offering Coach Bozeman a contract extension, we fully recognize and appreciate what he has meant to Morgan and our basketball program,” Scott said Wednesday in a statement. “We have very high expectations for our men’s basketball program and after conducting a comprehensive review, it became clear that we are not reaching our full potential on the court.”

h/t to Ethan Miller/Getty Images for the photo