Men's basketball coach Jay Smith resigns
Central Michigan University men's basketball coach Jay Smith resigned Thursday even though Athletics Director David Heeke said in March he would honor Smith's final contract year.
"I was completely surprised," Heeke said about Smith's resignation. "There was absolutely no pressure from the administration ... on Jay or me. We've been completely committed and completely behind Jay."
Smith was unavailable for comment Thursday.
His resignation comes just two days after Heeke announced wrestling coach Tom Borrelli would receive a four-year contract extension from the university Tuesday.
Heeke said Borrelli's extension did not factor into Smith's decision to resign, however. Heeke also said Smith never approached him requesting a contract extension.
"No. We had no conversations on that," Heeke said.
Smith's decision may have been family-related, said sophomore forward Justin Blevins.
"I'd heard before that it was from personal reasons," Blevins said. "It might be time for him to settle down with his family."
Still, Blevins said Smith's resignation caught him off-guard.
"I mean, we just got done with school; we had personal interviews with coach and we reviewed last season," Blevins said. "He never mentioned anything about (resigning) to us at all. He was still planning for next season.
"I'm pretty sure everyone is in shock right now."
The Chippewas finished the 2006 season, Smith's ninth as head coach, with a 4-24 record and only one Mid-American Conference win.
He only mustered a 20-66 record since finishing the 2003 season with a 25-7 record, a MAC championship and an NCAA tournament bid.
Still, Heeke was confident in Smith's ability to revive a team that currently returns its entire roster next season.
"Jay has been successful in this league before," Heeke said in a March 15 article in Central Michigan Life. "He has a young team that competed very hard and was involved in a lot of close games. They have the nucleus to be a good team in the future."
Heeke said many steps already have been initiated and a national search for Smith's replacement will begin within days.
"The process will move very quickly," Heeke said. "We want this done sooner rather than later."
One possible candidate is Michigan State University assistant coach Mark Montgomery, an assistant coach at CMU from 1998 to 2001.
Montgomery helped guide CMU to the 2001 MAC regular season championship, its first since 1987.
"His name is familiar with us, especially with his background at CMU," Heeke said. "I'm sure he'd be a great addition if we chose to go down that road."
CMU won't travel that road, however, until it conducts a thorough search, Heeke said.
Montgomery was a leading candidate for the Eastern Michigan University head coaching vacancy prior to the 2006 season, but the Eagles chose University of Michigan assistant coach Charles Ramsey instead.
Montgomery and MSU head coach Tom Izzo could not be reached for comment Thursday.
