SMU Fires Coach Rob Lanier Ahead of ACC Move, per Report

The Mustangs lost in the first round of the NIT on Wednesday.

As it prepares for membership in a new conference, SMU is reportedly making a change on the hardwood.

The Mustangs dismissed coach Rob Lanier on Thursday after two seasons, Field of 68’s Jeff Goodman first reported.

The reported move comes less than 24 hours after SMU lost 101–92 to Indiana State in the first round of the NIT. The Mustangs finished 20–13 this season, their final campaign in the American Athletic Conference before moving to the ACC in 2024.

In two years with SMU, Lanier went 30–35. The veteran coach is 141–135 lifetime across nine Division I seasons between Siena, Georgia State and the Mustangs. He led the Saints to the NCAA tournament in 2002 and the Panthers in ’22.

Rob Lanier has been fired at SMU after just two seasons, source confirms to CBS Sports. @GoodmanHoops first to report. That's a stunner. SMU moves into the ACC later this year.

— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) March 21, 2024

SMU, which enjoyed a brief men’s basketball renaissance in the mid-2010s under coaches Larry Brown and Tim Jankovich, has not made the NCAA tournament since 2017.

The Mustangs’ shift to the ACC will mark their fourth conference move in the past 30 years.