Memphis announced earlier today that it was firing women’s basketball coach Alex Simmons after her third season with the program. The Tigers finished the season 10-21, missing the conference tournament, and Simmons was 30-61 in her time at Memphis.
Rumors began to swirl last week that Dr. Ed Scott would be making the decision to part ways with Simmons, and the head coach made headlines after the season finale on Saturday, saying that she had not had conversations with Scott about her future.
“I haven’t talked to (Scott) about anything, even with the rumor and previous to that rumor,” Simmons said following a four-point loss to Wichita State.
“Memphis is a place that not many people wanted to come to, but Alex Simmons did. Memphis is not a place that many people want to stay, but Alex Simmons does.”
In a press release, Scott thanked Simmons for her “dedication to our student-athletes” and added that this is the right time to make a change.
“Following a comprehensive evaluation of our women’s basketball program, we believe this is the right time for a leadership change,” Scott said. “We remain committed to building a program that competes at the highest level of our conference and reflects the pride and passion of the University of Memphis community.”
The next hire will be the third head coach since the 2021-22 season when Katrina Merriweather took over after Melissa McFerrin’s 13-year campaign.
This will be the fourth hire that Scott will be tasked with making after hiring new coaches in volleyball, softball and football, and Simmons is the first coach that Scott has fired since taking over at Memphis.
All three previous hires have been sitting head coaches, and it’ll be interesting to see if the athletic department takes the same approach for women’s basketball. In the press release, Scott continued to emphasize the commitment to the women’s basketball program.
“We have made meaningful investments in women’s basketball and are grateful for the strong support from our fans and donors.”