Ole Miss Coach Andy Kennedy Steps Down After 12 Seasons

Andy Kenned has been with Ole Miss since 2006 and has taken the team to the NCAA Tournament twice.

Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy will be stepping down for the team, effective immediately, the team announced Sunday. Assistant Tony Madlock will serve as coach for the remainder of the season.

It was reported Monday that Kennedy and Ole Miss planned to part ways at the end of this season, and in a press conference that same day, Kennedy provided three goals he intended for his announcement to help accomplish: End any speculation about Kennedy's future as the coach, remove any distraction as the program prepares to find a new coach and relieve any outside pressure the players may be feeling.

In a statement from Kennedy on Sunday about his decision to leave, he said that he felt he accomplished the first two objectives, but not the last.

"It has become readily apparent to me that my continued presence as the head coach is proving detrimental to these players finishing the season in a fashion that is representative of The Standard for this program that has been clearly established and maintained for over a decade; therefore, I believe that it is in everyone’s best interest that I exit my role as head coach effective immediately," Kennedy said in the statement. "We all know that “clean breaks” are always best, and I should have realized this last Monday. My apologies."

Kennedy has been with Ole Miss since 2006 after spending one year as the Cincinnati coach.

In his 12 years with the Rebels, Kennedy finished above .500 every season, reached at least 20 wins nine times so far and has led the team to the NCAA Tournament in 2013 and 2015.

In the 2013 season Ole Miss won the SEC Tournament by knocking off Missouri, Vanderbilt and Florida in consecutive games. The team then defeated Wisconsin in its first NCAA Tournament game, but fell to La Salle in the next round.

The Rebels are 11-16 this year and 4-10 in SEC play. For his career at Ole Miss, Kennedy finished 245-156.