In a surprising turn of events, the University of Texas has parted ways with their basketball coach, Rodney Terry, following an underwhelming debut season in the Southeastern Conference and an early elimination from the NCAA Tournament. This decision comes merely two years after Terry, serving as an assistant coach, led the Longhorns to an impressive Elite Eight run in the 2022-2023 season. At that time, he stepped up in the midst of chaos after former head coach Chris Beard was dismissed due to a felony family violence charge, which was later dropped.
Terry’s ability to stabilize the team during a turbulent period was noteworthy. Under his leadership, Texas clinched the Big 12 Conference Tournament and made their deepest NCAA Tournament run since 2008. His efforts were acknowledged with a promotion to head coach along with a five-year, $15 million contract. Nevertheless, maintaining that level of success proved challenging, leading to his departure with three years still remaining on his contract. Over two full seasons as head coach, Terry accumulated a 40-29 record.
Athletic Director Chris Del Conte expressed, “My philosophy has always been to wait until the end of the season and review every facet of our program before making any final decisions, and we’ve been doing that since our heartbreaking First Four loss in the NCAA Tournament.” He added that after evaluating the past three seasons, including their inaugural SEC campaign, the decision was made that it was best for Texas to pursue a new direction.
Joining the SEC in 2024, Texas commenced the season with a ranking of No. 19, only to fall out of the rankings after losing their opening game. An early three-game skid against top-10 ranked opponents further hampered their start. The team finished the regular season losing seven out of the last nine games and posted a 6-12 conference record. This was despite having the SEC’s leading scorer, Tre Johnson, who also earned the title of conference freshman of the year.
Texas managed to secure a slot in the NCAA Tournament with impressive wins in the conference tournament, although only as an 11-seed needing to play a qualifier. Their season concluded with a tough 86-80 loss to Xavier, ending with a 19-16 overall record. This marked another early exit, following a second-round loss the previous year.
Terry shared his feelings in a statement, saying, “It was a dream of mine to be the head coach of the Longhorns, and I’ve been able to live that dream. I’ll forever be a Longhorn.” Despite his dreams, he faced challenges in building cohesive teams in an era marked by open player transfers and players capitalizing on their name, image, and likeness.
Although Terry succeeded in signing top talent like Tre Johnson, projected for an NBA draft this summer, other high-caliber recruits have not gravitated towards Texas. Before his first full season, prominent recruits Ron Holland and A.J. Johnson opted for professional careers instead of joining the Longhorns, leaving the program without commitments from other top high school talents for the upcoming season.