After five (mostly miserable) years, $7 million in salary paid, and 98 basketball games lost, the Washington State Cougars have finally fired men’s basketball coach Ernie Kent — even though they’ll be paying another $4.2 million to make him go away.
WSU athletics director Pat Chun obviously felt like the state of the program was such that a move had to be made, despite the cost. Or, perhaps he saw an opportunity because of the cost — the program is almost certainly hemorrhaging money, given the heretofore unthinkable lack of attendance, and there’s nowhere to go but up.