Ernie Zeigler has been fired as the head basketball coach at Central Michigan after the Chippewas hit the 20-loss mark for a second straight season.
Ernie Zeigler Fired At Central Michigan After 6 Seasons
Central Michigan has fired head basketball coach Ernie Zeigler after six seasons in Mount Pleasant.
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“After a thorough review of the program, a change in leadership is needed in order to improve the overall performance of the program,” Athletic Director Dave Heeke said. “I appreciate Coach Zeigler’s commitment to Central Michigan University and his hard work on and off the court. We wish him nothing but the best in his future endeavors”
The Chippewas failed to finish above .500 in any of Zeigler's six seasons on the job. A 15-15 record in 2009-2010 was the closest they came.
An assistant under Ben Howland at Pittsburgh and UCLA, Zeigler was able to survive this long at CMU in large part because of his recruiting ability. The Chippewas pulled in the highest-rated recruiting class in the Mid-American conference in every year from 2009-2011. Unfortunately, that off-the-court success did not translate into overly positive results on it.
Zeigler’s son, Trey, was Central Michigan’s leading scorer and rebounder this season, averaging 15.8 PPG and 5.7 RPG. When news of his father’s firing first broke, Zeigler tweeted, “It’s been real.” That tweet has since been deleted.
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