After just one season on the job in Milwaukee, head men’s basketball coach LaVall Jordan is leaving, agreeing to become the next head coach at Butler University.
The Butler job opened up last week when Chris Holtmann left to take the head job at Ohio State.
Jordan played guard for the Bulldogs from 1998-2001 and later spent four years on the coaching staff, including three as an assistant from 2004-’07.
Jordan came to Milwaukee after spending six seasons as an assistant at the University of Michigan. His inexperienced and undermanned squad finished 8-23 overall in the regular-season. Their 4-14 Horizon League record was the worst in the 10-team conference.
The Panthers did win three games in the Horizon League Tournament, knocking off seventh-seeded Detroit, second-seeded Valparaiso and sixth-seeded Illinois-Chicago to reach the title game. They lost that title game, 59-53 to Northern Kentucky, missing out on a chance at an improbable NCAA Tournament berth to finish the season 11-24.
Jordan was one year into a five-year deal that paid him $350,000 annually. His buyout will be $700,000, which is half of the remaining value of his contract.
