ANN ARBOR, Mich.—The University of Michigan on Friday fired basketball Coach Juwan Howard after five seasons, parting ways with the former Fab Five star whose return to his alma mater included a Big Ten Conference title and advancing in two NCAA Tournaments before closing with two straight disappointing seasons.
Mr. Howard finished with an 82–67 record with the Wolverines, reaching some highs and some lows. He won a conference regular-season championship and was a win away from the Final Four in 2021, when he was named The Associated Press coach of the year.
He lost a school-record 24 games this season as Michigan plummeted to a last-place finish in the Big Ten for the first time since 1967.
Warde Manuel, Michigan’s athletic director, made the call to fire Howard without cause two days after an eight-win season ended with a loss to Penn State in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament.
“After a comprehensive review of the program, I have decided that Juwan will not return as our men’s basketball coach,” Mr. Manuel said in a statement from the school that did not include a comment from Howard. “Juwan is among the greatest Wolverines to ever be associated with our basketball program.
“I know how much it meant, to not only Juwan, but to all of us, for him to return here to lead this program. Despite his love of his alma mater and the positive experience that our student-athletes had under his leadership, it was clear to me that the program was not living up to our expectations and not trending in the right direction.”
Mr. Howard, who is from Chicago, was a key player on Michigan’s Fab Five teams with Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Jimmy King, and Ray Jackson that reached the 1992 and 1993 national championship games.
Mr. Manuel hired Mr. Howard, who had tears of joy at his introductory news conference in May 2019, when John Beilein bolted to coach the Cleveland Cavaliers after turning the Wolverines into a national power.
A message seeking comment was left with Mr. Beilein, who is potentially a candidate to return to Michigan.
Early in the 2021–22 season, following a run to an NCAA Tournament regional final, Mr. Manuel gave Mr. Howard a five-year extension worth more than $16.9 million that had him under contract through the 2025–26 season.
Michigan will owe Mr. Howard about $7 million for his base salary and additional compensation, plus a lump-sum payment of $3 million, for firing him without cause in year three of his deal, according to terms of his contract.
Mr. Howard, 51, had heart surgery in September and returned to his head-coaching duties in mid-December after a review of an incident involving several individuals during a team practice. Jon Sanderson, the team’s former strength and conditioning coach, did not join the Wolverines on the sideline for their Dec. 10 game at Iowa, and was not on the team’s bench in subsequent games.
Mr. Sanderson resigned last week and was hired by Illinois’s basketball program as a sports performance consultant on Thursday.
Mr. Manuel said in a Dec. 15 statement that a “thorough internal review” did not uncover anything that warranted disciplinary action for anyone involved.
Two years ago, Mr. Howard was suspended for the final five games of the regular season and fined $40,000 for hitting a Wisconsin assistant in the head and triggering a postgame melee. The previous season, Mr. Howard got into a shouting match with then-Maryland coach Mark Turgeon and had to be restrained during the conference tournament. Mr. Howard drew two technical fouls and was ejected from that game.
The Washington Wizards drafted Mr. Howard No. 5 overall in 1994 and the one-time all-star forward averaged 13.4 points during his career that ended in 2013 after winning two NBA titles with the Miami Heat. Howard’s coaching career started as an assistant focused on player development with the Heat before being promoted to assistant coach.
He had two sons play for him at Michigan: Jett, who was drafted No. 11 overall this year by the Orlando Magic, and Jace, a reserve guard on this season’s team.
