Ohio State Fires Head Basketball Coach Chris Holtmann

After two straight years of struggles on the hardwood, the Ohio State Buckeyes have fired head basketball coach Chris Holtmann.

Matt Galatzan | Feb 14, 2024

The Ohio State Buckeyes are making a major change on the hardwood.

Per a release from the school, the Buckeyes have fired head men's basketball coach Chris Holtmann in the midst of his seventh year with the team.

Ohio State associate head coach Jake Diebler will take over as the interim head coach.

Per his contract, Ohio State will owe Holtmann $12.8 million in buyout money.

"I want to express my appreciation toward Chris for the first-class program, and the well-respected program, he has run here at Ohio State," Buckeyes AD Gene Smith said. "He and his wife, Lori, are wonderful people. I thank each of them for their seven years here in Columbus and I wish them well."

Jake Diebler, associate head coach of the men's basketball team,

The Buckeyes, who have been struggling mightily over the last two seasons, have accumulated a 30-29 record and a 9-24 record in the Big Ten over that time.

Ohio State is also in the midst of a 16-game road losing streak, which has tied the longest such streak in program history - something Holtmann has attributed to inconsistencies and poise.

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In his first five seasons with the Buckeyes, Holtmann had the Buckeyes rolling in the regular season, winning 25 games in Year 1, and at least 20 games over the next four. He also made the NCAA Tournament in five straight seasons but was never able to get past the Round of 32. The 2019-20 season's tournament was canceled due to COVID-19.

However, somewhere along the way, that success was lost, leading to a 16-19 season in 2022-23 and the 14-10 start in 2023-24.

Now, the Buckeyes will begin the search for a new leader for the program - one that they hope can return them to the successful days of Thad Matta.

Published Feb 14, 2024

MATT GALATZAN

Matt Galatzan is the Publisher of LonghornsCountry.com, AllAggies.com, and the Managing Editor of BuckeyesNow.com and TheGroveReport.com He is also the Editor-In-Chief of RamDigest.com and TexansDaily.com. Galatzan graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he studied integrated marketing communications, with minors in journalism and business administration. Galatzan started in the sports journalism industry under Mike Fisher at DallasBasketball.com in 2014, which at the time was part of the 247Sports network. He also spent two years covering the SMU Mustangs for PonyStampede.com on the 247Sports network. When DallasBasketball.com and CowboysCountry.com moved over to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network in 2020, Galatzan followed suit, eventually being taking over as the Managing Editor and Publisher of LonghornsCountry.com and AllAggies.com a year later. Through the years, Galatzan has conducted a handful of high-profile one-on-one interviews to add to his resume — in both writing and podcasting. Some of his biggest interviews have been with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, former Longhorns players Dan Neil and Phil Dawson, and many other recruits, and current/former players for each of the teams he has covered. Galatzan is also a full-time employee in the digital media department for Audacy and KRLD FM's 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, which is the official radio home of the Dallas Cowboys. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels, including Twitter on @MattGalatzan For any inquiries, please email matt.galatzan@gmail.com