KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Bruce Weber resigned as the basketball coach at Kansas State on Thursday, one day after the Wildcats lost to West Virginia in the opening round of the Big 12 Tournament to cap a third straight losing season.
Weber made headlines following the loss to the Mountaineers at T-Mobile Center on Wednesday night when he lambasted the NCAA over its handling of the FBI investigation into college basketball corruption. Weber said he had refused to cut his hair until schools that were identified in the probe were punished, which some took as a swipe at rival Kansas.
“We won titles. We did it the right way,” said Weber, who led the Wildcats to a share of two Big 12 regular-season titles in 10 seasons in Manhattan. "I'm on the NCAA ethics committee. I was told they were going to take care of the people in the FBI stuff, so I told somebody I'm going to grow my hair until something happens. Obviously, it's still growing.
“That's the sad part about our business,” Weber added. “Lon Kruger told me the other day, all the guys in the FBI (probe) except one are in the NCAA Tournament. All those teams are going to be in the NCAA Tournament.”
Weber was a largely unpopular pick to replace Frank Martin when he was hired by former athletic director John Currie in 2012, shortly after he was fired by Illinois. Weber was mulling several mid-major jobs when Currie selected him to take over a program that had suddenly shot to national prominence on the back of six straight 20-win seasons.
Weber kept the momentum going for a while, too. He led the Wildcats to a share of the Big 12 title in his first season, made five NCAA Tournaments in his first seven seasons and added a share of another conference title just four years ago.
But the past few years have been a struggle, and all the hard-won support Weber had gained over most of the previous decade simply disappeared. He was forced to completely rebuild the roster after the 2019 season, then struggled to recruit at a level to get the Wildcats back to the point where they were competing for championships.
They went 9-20 last season and 14-17 this season, leaving Weber — who took the Illini to the national championship game in 2005 — with a 184–147 record with the Wildcats. His career mark, including a highly successful run at Southern Illinois that included two NCAA tourney appearances, stands at 407-301 with 13 appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
“I'm very, very proud of my time here,” Weber said Wednesday night. "It was a long, long time that we won a championship and I told the guys, the funny part and the sad part, I didn't get much credit for that, and they all said it wasn't my guys, but I would tell you probably the closest group of all of my 40-some years of coaching in that group.
“Then we did it with our guys,” Weber continued. “Whatever happens in the future happens, and that's fine. K-State is a great place, great people.”
-Below is the media release from KSU Athletics on Weber's resignation
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Head men’s basketball coach Bruce Weber announced today (March 10) that he has resigned from his position at Kansas State.
“Coach Weber has provided selfless leadership to our basketball program and university for the last decade,” said Director of Athletics Gene Taylor. “With two conference championships and an Elite Eight run in 2018, our program reached exceptional levels of success under his direction. His development of young men on and off the court, while representing K-State in a first-class manner with the highest level of integrity is unmatched in today’s game and something all K-Staters should take great pride in.”
In 10 seasons as head coach at K-State, Weber amassed a 184-147 overall record, including an 82-98 mark in Big 12 play, with 5 trips to the NCAA Tournament (2013, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019) and a share of the Big 12 regular season title in both 2013 and 2019. His 2018 team made the school’s first trip to the Elite Eight in eight years.
Weber’s 184 wins are the third-most by a head coach in school history, trailing Hall of Famers Jack Hartman and Fred “Tex” Winter. He is the fourth coach (Hartman, Winter and Frank Martin) to take the school to at least five NCAA Tournaments in a tenure. He was named the 2013 Big 12 Coach of the Year after guiding the Wildcats to a 27-8 overall record and their first-ever Big 12 regular-season championship.
Weber was named the school’s 24th head coach on March 31, 2012.
Weber, 65, has a compiled a 497-302 overall record in 24 seasons as a head coach, which includes stints at Southern Illinois (1998-2003) and Illinois (2003-11). His teams have participated in postseason play 15 times, including 13 NCAA Tournaments. He has won 15 NCAA Tournament games, including trips to the Sweet 16 in 2002, 2004, 2005 and 2018 and the Elite Eight in 2005 and 2018, while he played in the NCAA Championship in 2005.
Tom Gilbert
Director for Men's Basketball Communications