Andy Kennedy announced Monday that he will step down as Ole Miss’ head basketball coach at the end of the season.
The Rebels are coming off of an 82-66 loss at LSU. With his team sitting near the bottom of the SEC rankings, Kennedy said he made the decision on Sunday to not leave the question of what will happen up in the air.
“I would like to address this ominous cloud hanging over the program,” Kennedy said in a press conference at Ole Miss this afternoon. “I woke up Sunday morning with a true conviction that there needed to be some clarity on the future of Ole Miss basketball moving forward. I have been truly blessed to be a head coach in the Southeastern Conference in my home state for 12 years. That is a true blessing – this I know.”
Kennedy went on to say that he knew that it was time for a new voice and vision for this program moving forward. “So with that said, at the end of the season, I’m stepping down.”
Kennedy has been at the helm of the program for 12 seasons and will be leaving as the all-time winningest head coach at Ole Miss. This season, the team has struggled with an overall record of 11-14 and remains winless away from the Pavilion in true road games.
“The timing of today’s news might be a little bit surprising,” Ole Miss Athletic Director Ross Bjork said. “This is also a time where we celebrate Andy Kennedy’s dedication to Ole Miss’ basketball program. When Ole Miss needed him, Coach Kennedy came home and built this program into one of the most respected programs in the country and in the SEC. We have been a consistent performer under Coach Kennedy.”
“So as our all-time winningest coach in Ole Miss history, we will take the next few weeks…we are going to walk down memory lane and celebrate all of his 12 years of service, he deserves it,” Bjork said.
The Rebels have six regular season games remaining on its 2017-18 slate and an SEC tournament to take part in. Coach Kennedy, staff and players are focused on getting the job done for the remainder of the year.
Ole Miss will take the court against Arkansas at 6 p.m. on Tuesday night.
Adam Brown is the sports editor of HottyToddy.com. He can be reached at adam.brown@hottytoddy.com.
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