A Tale of 2 former FGCU men's hoops coaches: ECU fires Joe Dooley, USC extends Andy Enfield
Former FGCU men's basketball coaches Andy Enfield and Joe Dooley met different fates this week as one received a big contract extension and the other was fired.
Enfield, who led the Dunk City squad to the NCAA Sweet 16 in 2013, signed a contract extension with USC through the 2027-28 season on Wednesday. Enfield went 41-28 in his two seasons (2011-12, 2012-13) at FGCU before leaving for the Trojans, where he's in his ninth season and has a 183-117 record.
East Carolina University Director of Athletics Jon Gilbert announced Friday that he had fired Dooley and his staff after four seasons. The Pirates lost Thursday 74-63 to Cincinnati in the AAC tournament to finish 15-15 overall and 6-11 in conference play. Dooley, who replaced Enfield at FGCU and won 20 or more games in each of his five seasons with two NCAA Tournament appearances, failed to finish above .500 in any of his four seasons and went 44-67 at East Carolina.
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"For the last four seasons, Joe has worked tirelessly to improve our basketball program and I thank him for his dedication and commitment since the day he was hired. We wish him well in his future endeavors," Gilbert said in a school release.
For Dooley, 56, the last four years were his second stint coaching the Pirates. Dooley was the head coach at ECU from 1995 to 1999 and went 57-52.
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Enfield has built a national power at USC. The No. 21 Trojans lost in the Pac-12 Tournament semifinals Friday to UCLA 69-59, but USC's 26-7 record this season equals the most wins in program history (2017) and their 25 wins are a program record for the regular season.
"Andy has continued to meet and exceed every expectation we have set for him," said USC athletic director Mike Bohn in a news release. "In our three years working together, our men's basketball program has enjoyed unprecedented success and the national landscape of college basketball has taken notice. That is a testament to Andy's leadership of the program, our coaches and support staff, and our talented basketball players. Andy's incredible accomplishments stand on their own. We are excited about the trajectory of our men's basketball program with regards to results, recruiting, and the development of the young men on our team. We are committed to continuing to enhance and strengthen our program as we move ahead, and we are looking forward to the immediate opportunity to make another March Madness run."
"I am so proud of the success our players have had on the court and academically," Enfield said in a school release. "I want to thank President Carol Folt, Mike Bohn, Brandon Sosna and Paul Perrier for their support. Their impact on our program has been significant. I also want to acknowledge how fortunate I am to be surrounded by outstanding coaches and staff, and would like to recognize our fans and students because their enthusiasm and energy have been tremendous assets.
"My family and I are very happy to be part of the Trojan Family. I feel great about the future of USC basketball in the Pac-12 and nationally."
More: FGCU men picked for Basketball Classic, Fly era and search for his replacement continue
More: FGCU removes men's head coach Michael Fly after four seasons
FGCU is also looking for a new head coach, having fired Michael Fly on March 5 after four seasons and a 55-59 record as the head coach and 11 seasons in the program overall. He had been promoted after seven years as an assistant under Enfield and then Dooley.
Fly will get a chance to coach at least one more time with the Eagles as they accepted a bid to The Basketball Classic presented by Eracism tournament and will host a game on Tuesday at Alico Arena. Fly said he would coach if FGCU was selected for a postseason tournament.
"I asked the players when we talked about the transition (from Fly as coach), I said 'Do you guys still want to play?'" FGCU athletic director Ken Kavanagh said on Wednesday. "The last thing we want to do is shut the season down on them. They said 'No, we want to play.'"
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Former FGCU men's basketball coaches Dooley, Enfield met different fates
