Fran McCaffery was reportedly fired as the University of Iowa’s men’s basketball head coach Friday after a 15-year stint running the program.
McCaffery’s firing came just one day after he was ejected from a blowout loss to Illinois in the Big 10 Tournament Thursday. The team will miss the NCAA tournament for the second straight season.
Footage of the ejection circulated on social media after Iowa’s 106-94 loss.
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Just minutes after McCaffery’s firing was reported by multiple outlets, his son Connor, a former Iowa player, current Butler men’s basketball assistant head coach and boyfriend of Caitlin Clark, posted three clown emoji on X. Connor has since deleted the post.
Connor’s last two X posts were a retweet of a celebratory post of his father reaching the 200-win mark at Iowa and two heart emoji over a video of his father’s emotional interview after a win over Rutgers in February.
Connor played for Fran at Iowa for six seasons from 2017-23.
HUGE CAITLIN CLARK MILESTONE SURPASSED BY TEEN PHENOM JUJU WATKINS AMID QUEST TO STEAL ALL-TIME SCORING CROWN
Head coach Fran McCaffery hugs son Connor McCaffery of the Iowa Hawkeyes after a game against the Auburn Tigers in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Legacy Arena at the BJCC March 16, 2023, in Birmingham, Ala. (Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
During his six seasons, Connor played in 166 games, which ranks second in Iowa history. He dealt with injuries throughout the majority of his college career, but a redshirt year and COVID-19 campaign allotted him six seasons of eligibility.
He reached the NCAA Tournament in each of his full seasons apart from his COVID season. He averaged 4.5 points and three rebounds, and played in 111 wins, tying Jordan Bohannon for the most in program history. His career assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.59 (527 assists to 147 turnovers) is the second best in NCAA history.
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Head coach Fran McCaffery hugs son Connor McCaffery of the Iowa Hawkeyes during the second half against the Auburn Tigers in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Legacy Arena at the BJCC March 16, 2023, in Birmingham, Ala. (Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
Iowa is also where Connor met Clark when she was starring for the women’s team from 2020-24. The couple started dating in April 2023 after Clark led Iowa on a run to the NCAA title game. Connor was a senior at that time and began his coaching career after graduating.
Fran McCaffery will leave Iowa after he led the team to seven NCAA tournament appearances, advancing to the second round four times but never reaching the Sweet 16. The coach would have led eight NCAA tournament teams had the COVID-19 pandemic not resulted in the cancellation of the 2020 tournament.
In 15 seasons as Hawkeyes head coach, McCaffery had a record of 297-207 and will leave the program as the all-time wins leader.
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