Western Kentucky coach resigns after 3 players are suspended
Western Kentucky coach Ray Harper resigned Thursday after three of the team’s players were suspended following a university discipline hearing.
The hearing took place Wednesday evening. Fredrick Edmond, Marlon Hunter and Chris McNeal are the three players suspended.
The school said Harper will remain on paid status through June 30.
“I would like to thank Ray Harper for his many contributions to our program over the past eight years,” WKU athletic director Todd Stewart said in a statement. “Today is obviously a very difficult day. President Gary Ransdell and I met with our team a short while ago. We will begin the process of identifying and hiring our next head coach immediately.”
Harper, 54, took over midway through the 2011-12 season. He has a career record of 90-61 and 42-34 in the Sun Belt. WKU made the NCAA Tournament in 2011-12 and 2012-13. WKU finished 18-16 in 2015-16, losing to Old Dominion in the conference tournament after beating top-seeded UAB.
The school said details of the disciplinary hearing involving the players would not be released.
“Federal law prevents us from public discussion of any details related to student disciplinary cases,” Stewart said.
Edmond, a junior, was the team’s third-leading scorer at 12.2 points per game. McNeal, a freshman, averaged 5.6 points per game while Hunter, also a freshman, had 4.3 points per game.
– – – – – – –
Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
