The University of Central Arkansas and head men’s basketball coach Russ Pennell have agreed to part ways effective immediately, according to Dr. Brad Teague, UCA’s director of athletics.
Pennell, in his sixth season at UCA, has been on a leave of absence for personal reasons since Dec. 16. Teague said Tuesday that Pennell will not return as the Bears head coach. Associate Head Coach Anthony Boone, who has been in charge of the program since mid-December and been a part of the coaching staff since 2014, will continue as the interim head coach the remainder of the 2019-20 season.
“Coach Pennell positively changed the culture of our men’s basketball program,’ said Teague, who hired Pennell in March 2014. “He was able to recruit outstanding young men to our campus who made an immediate impact. This program and our student-athletes are known for their perfect APR (academic progress rate) scores, high grade-point averages, community service and entertaining basketball.
“We wish Russ great success as he pursues new endeavors.’
Pennell, who played for the Bears from 1982-84, started from scratch when he took the reins of the program for the 2014-15 season. He brought in 11 new players and kept just one player from the previous team, which had received APR sanctions for poor classroom performance. The Bears improved quickly and dramatically in the classroom but never quite found an equal amount of success on the court. The Bears’ best record over the past five seasons was 18-17 overall and 10-8 in league play, both during the 2017-18 season.
UCA did qualify for the eight-team Southland Conference Tournament the past three seasons and also played two games in the College Basketball Invitational postseason tournament in 2018, a first for UCA at the NCAA Division I level.
“After much consideration, thought and prayer, I am announcing I will not return to UCA and resume coaching,’ Pennell said in a statement. “It is time for me and my family to move forward and pursue some new challenges. We look forward to the future and what God has in store for us.’
The Bears are currently 4-11 overall but 3-1 in the Southland Conference, their best league start since joining the SLC in 2006-07. The Bears, who played one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the conference, are 3-3 since Boone was put in charge of the program, including three SLC victories at the Farris Center over the past three weeks.
UCA plays at the University of New Orleans on Wednesday night and at home Saturday afternoon as part of a doubleheader with the Sugar Bears against Sam Houston State.
https://ucasports.com/news/2020/1/7/mens-basketball-pennell-not-returning-to-uca-program.aspx
