Bruce Weber resigns as Kansas State men's basketball coach after 10 seasons
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Bruce Weber clearly saw the writing on the wall.
Less than 14 hours after Kansas State's season ended with a 73-67 first-round Big 12 Tournament loss to West Virginia, Weber announced his resignation Thursday morning after 10 years as the Wildcats' head basketball coach.
By resigning, Weber chose not to prolong the inevitable after K-State ended the season with six straight losses to finish at 14-17 overall and ninth in the Big 12 with a 6-12 record. It was the Wildcats' third straight losing season since sharing the Big 12 regular-season championship with Texas Tech in 2019.
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"Coach Weber has provided selfless leadership to our basketball program and university for the last decade," K-State athletics director Gene Taylor said in a news release. "With two conference championships and an (NCAA Tournament) Elite Eight run in 2018, our program reached exceptional levels of success under his direction.
"His development of young men on and off the court while representing K-State in a first-class manner with the highest level of integrity is unmatched in today's game and something all K-Staters should take great pride in."
Taylor said a national search for Weber's successor begins immediately with no set timeline to fill the position, K-State said in its release. The school will fulfill the terms of Weber's contract, which had one year remaining with a reported $1 million buyout.
Weber, 65, took over at K-State in March 2012 after Frank Martin resigned to go to South Carolina. In 10 seasons in Manhattan, Weber compiled a 184-302 overall record and an 82-98 mark in the Big 12.
Weber's 184 victories at K-State were the third-most in school history behind Hall of Famers Jack Hartman and Tex Winter. He led the Wildcats to the NCAA Tournament five times with the highlight a 2018 run to the Elite Eight.
Weber is the fourth K-State coach to take the Wildcats to at least five NCAA Tournaments, joining Hartman, Winter and Martin.
Weber leaves with a career head coaching record of 497-302 in 24 seasons at Southern Illinois (1998-2003), Illinois (2003-11) and then K-State. His 2005 Illinois team advanced to the NCAA championship game.