Cubs’ Theo Epstein resigns

Theo Epstein, who transformed the long-suffering Cubs and helped bring home a droughtbusting championship in 2016, is stepping down after nine seasons as the club’s president of baseball operations.

The team announced Tuesday that Epstein is leaving the organization, and general manager Jed Hoyer is being promoted to take his place.

Epstein said after the season he anticipated remaining on the job for at least one more year, with his contract set to expire in 2021. He had said repeatedly he thinks executives have about a 10-year shelf life in a job, and next year would have marked a decade since he left the Boston Red Sox for Chicago.

Epstein said in a statement he will “cherish” his time with the Cubs and said it was simply time to make a change.

“The organization faces a number of decisions this winter that carry long-term consequences; those types of decisions are best made by someone who will be here for a long period rather than just one more year,” he said. “Jed has earned this opportunity and is absolutely the right person to take over this baseball operation at such an important time.”

Chairman Tom Ricketts said the Cubs are “grateful for everything he has given to this organization and this city.”

The 46-year-old Epstein, who led Boston to World Series championships in 2004 and 2007, is one of five executives to lead multiple organizations to titles. He, Pat Gillick, John Schuerholz and Dave Dombrowski are the only ones to do so with teams in each league.

Epstein oversaw a massive rebuild when he came to Chicago following the 2011 season. He overhauled the farm system as well as the scouting and analytics operations, helping to produce one of the most successful stretches in the franchise’s history.

The Cubs reached the NL championship series three times in Epstein’s nine seasons and won the World Series in 2016, ending a drought dating to 1908.

College basketball

MARSHALL OUT AT WICHITA STATE » Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall resigned Nov. 17 following an investigation into allegations of verbal and physical abuse, ending a tenure that soared to the Final Four and crashed on the eve of the upcoming season. Marshall, who has long been known for his combustible sideline persona, came under scrutiny when former player Shaq Morris claimed he’d been struck twice by his coach during an October 2015 practice. Morris also claimed that he’d seen Marshall choke assistant coach Kyle Lindsted, who soon departed to become an assistant at Minnesota. Marshall denied the claims. The school said Marshall agreed to a settlement of $7.75 million to be paid over the next six years. Shockers assistant coach Isaac Brown, who has been with the program since 2014, will serve as interim coach. Their season begins Nov. 25 against Utah State in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.