UW-Green Bay suddenly fires Darner
GREEN BAY – The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay men's basketball team suddenly needs a new coach.
According to the Stadium's Jeff Goodman, the school has “parted ways” with Linc Darner after five seasons.
A source confirmed the firing later Sunday.
UWGB finished third in the Horizon League this past season and reached the conference semifinals. It has gone 9280 under Darner and made the NCAA tournament in 2016 for the first time in two decades.
Darner did not respond to a voicemail left on his cell phone. The UWGB athletic department declined to comment.
The move is a shocking one on the surface, especially the timing of it.
Darner and his coaching staff recently put most of the finishing touches on the team's 2020 recruiting class.
Per his contract, he earns a one-year extension each time his team finishes in the top four of the conference. He was signed through the 2025-26 season.
Darner's base salary was $230,000 per season. If UWGB must pay the entire contract because it fired him due to performance, the school would owe him more than $1 million. If the school fired him with cause – such as violating an NCAA rule – they could get out of paying him.
Goodman reported that Darner and his assistant coaches were “completely blindsided” by the move.
At least some of his players were, too. “I didn't know,” senior forward Tank Hemphill said. “Until I saw the news.”
Hemphill, who received a medical redshirt last season because of a knee injury, wasn't ready to speculate on his future.
“I'm still thinking about what just happened,” he said. “I haven't made any decisions or anything.”