BOZEMAN – On Sunday it was announced by Montana State director of athletics Leon Costello that the Bobcats were parting ways with men’s basketball head coach Brian Fish, choosing not to renew his contract, which expires on June 30.
In five seasons at MSU, Fish’s teams were 65-92 overall. This year, he led Montana State to its first Big Sky Conference tournament win in a decade, beating Idaho 75-71 on Wednesday. But a loss to Eastern Washington in Thursday’s semifinals proved to be the final game in the Fish era.
When asked about the looming contract situation after that loss, Fish expressed the desire to stay at the helm for the Bobcats.
“I want to be here, I love coaching it, I love where the program’s at. We got a tournament win, and we hadn’t done that in 10 years,” said Fish on Thursday night. “We got 12 league wins and stuff like that. I want to be here, but that’s something that Leon and I will keep private between us, and we’ll sit and talk about it, but make no mistake, I want to be here.”
Costello announced the search for a new head coach begins immediately.
