NC State fires coach Mark Gottfried, but he will coach the rest of the season

NC State announced that Gottfried will not return for the 2017-18 season.

NC State has fired head coach Mark Gottfried, but Gottfried will continue to coach the Wolfpack for the remainder of this season, the school announced Thursday. 

"Mark and I met today to discuss the future direction of our program," said NC State Director of Athletics DebbieYow. "While it has long been my practice to evaluate the body of work at season's end, in reviewing the overall direction of our program, we believe a change in leadership is necessary moving forward. Our focus now remains on supporting our student-athletes and staff over the final weeks of our season." 

The announcement comes a day after NC State was blown out 97-73 by in-state rival North Carolina.

Gottfried led NC State to the NCAA tournament in his first four years leading the program, but the Wolfpack went 16-17 and 5-13 in ACC play last year and missed the tournament. NC State is 14-13 but just 3-11 in ACC play this season.

Over his tenure at NC State, Gottfried has a 122-82 overall record and a 47-55 record in ACC play.