Houston Fancher will not return as basketball coach at Appalachian State next season.
The school announced last night that Fancher resigned, but that he would be paid the remainder of his contract which runs through March 2010. Sources close to Fancher said that he was fired.
Charlie Cobb, Appalachian's athletics director, said last night that Fancher's resignation was by "mutual agreement."
Fancher had a record of 137-136 in nine seasons as coach of the Mountaineers. That record included a 13-18 mark this past season. Fancher had coached the Mountaineers to winning seasons and first-place finishes in the Southern Conference's North Division the two seasons before that, including a school-record 25 wins in 2006-07.
Fancher had been at Appalachian since 1996, serving two seasons as an assistant coach and two seasons as associate head coach under Buzz Peterson before replacing Peterson for the 2000-01 season.
"I'm thankful for the opportunity to represent Appalachian State University for the past 13 years, including the last nine as head coach," Fancher said in a statement released by Appalachian's sports- information office. "I want to thank Chancellor (Ken) Peacock and Charlie Cobb for their support. It has been a wonderful experience for me to build a program. The next head coach at ASU will be fortunate to coach the terrific group of kids that are in the program."
The Mountaineers had one senior on their roster this past season, and none in their starting lineup.
Fancher had one season remaining on his contract. His contract had been extended in 2007 through the 2009-10 academic year and he had received a base-salary raise to $116,000 a year.
Fancher informed his team yesterday evening that he was resigning, according to Mike Flynn, Appalachian's sports-information director.
Attempts last night to reach Fancher were unsuccessful.
Cobb indicated during the Southern Conference Tournament earlier this month that he planned to meet with Fancher but that Fancher would likely return for next season.
He said that the decision that Fancher would not return was reached yesterday.
Regarding the fulfillment of Fancher's contract through next season, Cobb said: "That's the commitment that was made. There's no better guy in the world and he represented the school with much class.
"You sit down and talk about a lot of things and decide what works best.
"It's a hard day for a lot of people, the Fancher family included at the top of the list…. The last couple of days have been the hardest thing I've ever dealt with professionally."
Cobb said that nothing is set in regard to Fancher's replacement, and that a search will begin immediately.
■ Tommy Bowman can be reached at 727-7320 or at tbowman@wsjournal.com.
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