Linc Darner
The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay is looking for a new head men’s basketball coach after firing Linc Darner over the weekend.
The Phoenix finished third in the Horizon League this past season and reached the semifinals of the Horizon League Tournament. Green Bay is 92-80 in five seasons under Darner, making the NCAA tournament in his first season in 2016.
It’s unclear why Darner was fired or exactly when the decision was made, but it comes with six years left on his contract with a base salary of $230,000 per season.
If Green Bay has to pay Darner all six remaining years of the contract, the school would owe him more than a million dollars. If he was actually fired because he violated NCAA rules, the school could get out of paying him the remaining years of his deal.
Darner’s deal was a bad deal for the school, which would have to add a year to coaches contract every time the Phoenix finished in the top four of the conference. He also reportedly had provisions in the deal that could extend his contract if certain changes occurred within specified positions of leadership at the school.
The move reportedly caught Darner and his assistant coaching staff completely off guard. The Green Bay Phoenix Athletic Department has declined to comment on the move.