After the Wisconsin Badgers women’s basketball team finished their 2020-2021 season with a loss in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament to Illinois, UW parted ways with head coach Jonathan Tsipis, according to our sources. We have reached out to UW for comment but have yet to hear back. (While I was writing this and also putting two kids to bed, UW made the announcement official and UW got back to me saying “A release should be out now or shortly.”)
The University of Wisconsin has made a change in its women’s basketball program and will conduct a search for a new head coach, Director of Athletics Barry Alvarez announced Tuesday. pic.twitter.com/ybFHGQmiH8
— Wisconsin Basketball (@BadgerWBB) March 10, 2021
Here is the statement in full if you don’t see the embedded tweet:
MADISON, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin has made a change in its women’s basketball program and will conduct a search for a new head coach, Director of Athletics Barry Alvarez announced Tuesday.
“I appreciate Coach Tsipis’s efforts during his five years with us, but we feel it is time for a new direction for our women’s basketball program,” Alvarez said. “I wish Jonathan the best as he moves forward.”
Wisconsin was eliminated from the Big Ten tournament on Tuesday and finished the 2020-21 season with a 5-19 overall record and a 2-18 mark in Big Ten regular-season play.
Tsipis, the first man to coach the UW women’s team, coached the Badgers for the past five seasons compiling a record of 50-99 overall and 14-74 in the Big Ten. Wisconsin never finished higher than No. 12 in the Big Ten under Tsipis and will begin their search for a new head coach, the eighth in program history, immediately.
We will update this post if more information becomes available.