Former Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl, and his wife Brandy watch new Auburn head coach Steven Pearl address the media at his introductory press conference on Sept. 24, 2025WES SINOR
Fran Fraschilla has been involved with college basketball for nearly 50 years and he’s never seen anything like the past couple of weeks.
The 2025-26 season doesn’t begin until Nov. 3, but the sport has recently been overtaken by chaotic headlines – including one coach being placed on administrative leave after his assistant was linked to “human trafficking, pimping, and pandering” and another suspended for alleged abuse of his players.
Nearly half a dozen head coaches have either retired, been fired or suspended in about the last two weeks. And while there is no common link among the cases, it amounts to a series of controversial headlines for the sport.
“No fan will feel sorry for the college coaching profession,” Fraschilla told NJ Advance Media. “This is the business they have chosen. But this is the most insanity I’ve ever seen. I blame athletic administrators who never fully got their arms around the transfer portal and NIL. Chaos has ensued.”
Kevin Sweeney of Sports Illustrated did a nice job summarizing the chaos in a social media post.
Here’s a breakdown of the recent head coaching headlines:
**On Sept. 10, St.Joe’s coach Billy Lange stepped down to join Mike Brown’s staff with the Knicks. Lange was replaced by Steve Donahue, who owns a career coaching record of 331–344.
**On Sept. 12, Wofford fired coach Dwight Perry over housing and meal plan eligibility violations involving players that totaled between $84 and $108 per player for six players.
**On Sept. 22, Auburn’s Bruce Pearl announced he was stepping down ahead of the season after leading the program to two Final Fours, including last season. The move was timed so that his son, Steven Pearl – who has never been a head coach at any level – could take over without a coaching search.
**On Sept. 24, Wagner suspended head coach Donald Copeland, a former Seton Hall standout, for alleged abuse of his players, including making the players do extra running after he found a hidden water bottle in the gym. The news was first reported by the NY Post.
The school issued a statement on Wednesday.
**Also on Sept. 24, Cal State Bakersfield’s Rod Barnes stepped down after his assistant Kevin Mays was charged with several felonies, including child pornography, and pimping and pandering, after being accused of trafficking a woman. Assistant coach Mike Scott was named the acting head coach.
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