In the wake of an 0-19 season in ACC conference play, University of Pittsburgh Athletic Director Heather Lyke has fired Panthers Head Coach Kevin Stallings.

In a move that seemed inevitable, Stallings’ Pitt career was an ugly one for a once proud program. He led the Panthers to a 24-41 record. His tenure lasted two seasons and he replaced former head coach Jamie Dixon who left to fill the vacancy at his alma mater, Texas Christian University.

In a statement, Lyke thanked Stallings for his two years in Pittsburgh.

“I want to express my appreciation to Coach Stallings for his commitment to our program,” Lyke said. “In moving forward, we have tremendous expectations for our men’s basketball program at Pitt and I believe we can achieve great things within the Atlantic Coast Conference and nationally. A national search for the next Pitt head coach will begin immediately.”

The 57-year old had previously coached at Vanderbilt and Illinois State before his short stint as the Panthers’ head coach.

Stallings signed a six-year contract and had a buyout clause of $10 million in the contract. Reports were that Lyke was going to negotiate this number with Stallings and try to lower the number more to the university’s liking. Stallings reportedly wouldn’t take less than $9.5 million. No word has been given on the number the sides agreed upon.

Lyke’s decision was made easier in that she wasn’t the one who committed to Stallings as the men’s head coach. Former athletic director Scott Barnes hired a search firm to hire Stallings and decided he was the guy the basketball program wanted to move forward with. Two years later, Stallings is no longer employed.

Another factor that went into the decision likely was the dwindling attendance numbers this season. For every home game at the Petersen Events Center, there seemed to be less and less people showing up. For a venue that once used to be one of the most feared in college basketball to be drawing crowds of three and four thousand against opponents like Duke, North Carolina and other prestigious ACC opponents, Stallings likely wasn’t going to get much of a vote of confidence from his bosses.

Pitt does play in the ACC, which is a prestigious conference. There likely will be suitors for the job. The Panthers will likely begin their search immediately to find the new direction of their program.

Any transfers and other fall out will likely happen in the coming days as well.

This story will be updated as new information comes forth.

The post University of Pittsburgh fires head Coach Kevin Stallings appeared first on Pittsburgh Sports Castle.