Wake Forest fires Dino Gaudio

After three seasons and two appearances in the NCAA Tournament, it looks like Dino Gaudio has been fired by Wake Forest. A press conference is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Check back later today for more and check out the forums for more discussion.

WXII: Gaudio out at Wake Forest

Wake Forest University head basketball coach Dino Gaudio was fired Wednesday after mounting a 61-31 record during his three seasons as head coach, sources at the university confirmed.

An announcement was planned for 4:30 p.m.

Gaudio coached the team to two NCAA basketball tournament appearances and one NCAA tournament win.

He was hired in 2007 after coach Skip Prosser died suddenly from a heart attack

Gaudio, 53, joined Prosser in 1981 at a Central Catholic High School in West Virginia, and the native of Yorkville, Ohio, took over the program at tiny Wheeling Central in 1985 when Prosser left to join Xavier’s staff.

Here’s the release from WFU, which was up immediately following Wellman’s press conference, which lasted about 25 minutes.

Wake Forest’s Dino Gaudio Released From Contract

Wake Forest University Director of Athletics Ron Wellman announced today that head men’s basketball coach Dino Gaudio would not be retained. A national search for a new basketball coach will begin immediately.

“I met with Dino this afternoon and informed him that he would no longer be our basketball coach,” said Wellman.

“Dino has made contributions to this program over the last 10 seasons. He stepped into a difficult situation at a very trying time when Skip Prosser passed away and he steadied the program.

“But from a competitive standpoint, it has been disappointing that we have developed a pattern of not playing well late in the season and in the postseason. Wake Forest has a proud history of basketball success but we have not been as competitive in the postseason as we would like.”

Wellman said there was no timeline for the hiring of a new coach.

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166 Responses to Wake Forest fires Dino Gaudio

  1. section2chuck 04/07/2010 at 4:01 PM #

    And Fowler continues to sit on his ass, and do nothing. If Wake hires Rick Barnes or Brad Stevens, I think I will vomit. I also agree with the poster, about the fact that this search will last about 10 days tops.

  2. LRM 04/07/2010 at 4:09 PM #

    And State falls further into obscurity…

    If Wake hires Rick Barnes (and really, why couldn’t they?) then Lee Fowler might have to move to Phoenix for the safety of his family (and this time it would be for real).

  3. Old MacDonald 04/07/2010 at 4:11 PM #

    And we supposedly can’t get rid of Fowler because he has contract leverage on us. How much will this cost Wake?

  4. Derek Medlin 04/07/2010 at 4:18 PM #

    Watch the presser live here…

    http://www.wxii12.com/video/23080992/index.html

  5. Thinkpack17 04/07/2010 at 4:19 PM #

    Doesn’t Wake have like a 5 person recruiting class coming in? This could get very interesting.

  6. Derek Medlin 04/07/2010 at 4:21 PM #

    Presser is live now…

  7. StateFans 04/07/2010 at 4:25 PM #

    Awesome…thanks for the link

  8. one00_proof 04/07/2010 at 4:25 PM #

    They’re all locked in their LOIs. And I doubt any of them will want to get out of it if Wake hires who I think they’re gonna hire.

    Wake’s AD doesn’t do this unless he has an ace up his sleeve and I think we all know due to the timing who that ace is.

    Imagine that, taking initiative when the opportunity presents itself?! It’s such a freakin novel concept.

  9. StateFans 04/07/2010 at 4:26 PM #

    Note the “ISP” logo in the back?

    Do you mean that they don’t have a bunch of their buddies running “Demon Deacon Sports Marketing” for them?

    Shocking

  10. Derek Medlin 04/07/2010 at 4:26 PM #

    “Postseason success just not good enough for Wellman or WF.”

  11. Thinkpack17 04/07/2010 at 4:29 PM #

    “They’re all locked in their LOIs.”

    An LOI and a buck will get you a cup of coffee…McDonald’s premium roast coffee.

  12. StateFans 04/07/2010 at 4:30 PM #

    Maybe one of their recruits could write a letter supporting Dino?

  13. StateFans 04/07/2010 at 4:32 PM #

    ‘3 year pattern’ that included 2 NCAA Tournament appearances wasn’t good enough.

    Herb Sendek had a 5 year pattern of not making the NCAA Tournament and now Sidney Lowe has a 4 year pattern of not making the Tournament.

    Note that he didn’t criticize the fans that email him

  14. StateFans 04/07/2010 at 4:33 PM #

    ‘obviously a lot of disgruntled fanbase’

    WHAT?!?! With 2 NCAA Tournaments in 3 years?!?!?

    And our fans are unrealistic

  15. Prowling Woofie 04/07/2010 at 4:33 PM #

    ^^^ HAHAHA !!!

    Good one, SFN…

  16. DoubleE 04/07/2010 at 4:36 PM #

    According to Scout.com their recruits all signed their LOI but curious if they’ll be granted a release now that Gaudio has been fired.

    http://scouthoops.scout.com/a.z?s=75&p=9&c=8&toinid=361&yr=2010

  17. phipackattacka 04/07/2010 at 4:36 PM #

    With the exception of the Chris Paul incident, I’ve always liked WF. This makes me like them even more, and frustrated with State EVEN MORE! I may have a new BB team next year.

  18. WIFF 04/07/2010 at 4:38 PM #

    I’ve watched about 5 minutes of this presser and I already want to throw up. The difference between the professionalism of Wake’s AD and ours is not even measurable. Congratulations Wake. You will have a solid basketball program as long as Wellman is in charge. SFN, can we get a transcript of this presser so we can highlight the relevant bits and send it to Woodson?

  19. LKNpackfan 04/07/2010 at 4:39 PM #

    Let’s twist the knife –
    UNC won the ACCT and NCAAT last year
    Duke won the ACCT and NCAAT this year, and
    Wake is upgrading coaches before next year

  20. ncsufan13 04/07/2010 at 4:40 PM #

    “WHAT?!?! With 2 NCAA Tournaments in 3 years?!?!?

    And our fans are unrealistic”

    The answer is obvious. Ron Wellman is part of the lunatic fringe.

  21. Alpha Wolf 04/07/2010 at 4:42 PM #

    Wake takes sports seriously.

    State takes taking your money for sports seriously.

    That’s all you need to know.

  22. PoppaJohn 04/07/2010 at 4:42 PM #

    Wake is trading up – I’m betting Wellman already knows who the guy is and it’s just a matter of zeros.

    Bravo Wake.

  23. Alpha Wolf 04/07/2010 at 4:47 PM #

    Wake Forest’s Ron Wellman: “I look at results and base decisions on that alone.”

    Unlike a larger university in NC that ignores results completely.

    Really, I have begun believing that NC State should consider disbanding sports. If you ain’t in it to win it, then don’t even bother.

  24. Noah 04/07/2010 at 4:49 PM #

    Again…if you give money to the WPC, you’d get a better return if you simply set the money on fire.

  25. Alpha Wolf 04/07/2010 at 4:49 PM #

    “I’m betting Wellman already knows who the guy is and it’s just a matter of zeros.”

    I’m betting it’s a matter of waiting for the ink to dry and then Wake’s new coach meeting with his old team’s players to say goodbye.

    Wellman is a pro.

    We got what we got.

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