SOUTH KINGSTOWN – David M. Cox has been relieved of his duties as head coach of the University of Rhode Island men’s basketball team, URI Director of Athletics Thorr Bjorn announced Friday.
Cox served four years as the program’s head coach after being promoted to the position in April 2018. Prior to that, he was an assistant for four years under then head coach Dan Hurley – currently the head coach of the University of Connecticut men’s basketball team.
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Cox had an overall record of 64-55, including a record of 34-36 in Atlantic 10 conference play. The Rams also were 3-3 in the Atlantic 10 tournament under Cox, URI said.
Cox, according to URI, had the fourth-highest winning percentage by URI coaches with at least 50 games coached at .619, or 39-24 overall in his first two seasons.
However, URI’s men’s team struggled the last two seasons under Cox, finishing below .500 in each. Thursday night’s 64-59 loss to Richmond in the Atlantic 10 tournament put URI’s 2021-22 season at 15-16 overall and 5-12 in conference play. The Rams lost seven of their last 10 games this season.
Cox had two years remaining on a six-year contract that he signed when he was promoted to head coach in 2018 before he was fired, URI said. Cox was the state’s highest-paid employee in 2021, making $715,188 that year. He was one of six URI employees among the top 10 highest-paid in Rhode Island last year, and made about $54,000 more than then URI President David M. Dooley.
In a statement, Bjorn said that while he is grateful for Cox’s hard work and the manner he represented URI in his time as coach, a change was necessary. “This is not a decision I take lightly,” Bjorn said. “I have tremendous respect for David, and I wish nothing but the best for him and his family.”
Cox, in a statement, said it is “disappointing news” in being let go from URI, and “hoped and expected” to return to finish the job he started four years ago.
“I respect the [university’s] decision and I’m grateful for the opportunity. I have learned quite a bit in the eight years I’ve spent at Rhode Island,” Cox said. “I am certain that I will grow from those experiences. From winning championships to suffering tough losses. I will cherish my time here.”
URI said a national search for the next head coach is underway and the URI declined further comment until the search is completed.
Late last month, former URI and NBA star Lamar Odom, who won a couple NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers, told Entertainment Tonight that he wants to be the next URI men’s basketball coach. Odom, who retired from the NBA in 2014, played one season for the Rams in 1998-99 and hit the game-winning basket at the buzzer against Temple University to help URI win its first Atlantic 10 tournament title.
“If I could bring the Miami Heat training regimen, along with my basketball knowledge, they’d be a fool to at least not give me a shot,” Odom told Entertainment Tonight. “I can definitely make that program [at URI] a winning situation because, right now, they’re not doing too good.”
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.
