Fayetteville State men’s basketball coach Rick Duckett has been fired in a move that bewildered and angered many members of the school’s athletic department.
Athletic director Horace Small informed Duckett that he would not renew his contract. All FSU coaches work with one-year contracts that are renewed annually.
 Rick Duckett was fired as men's basketball coach at Fayetteville State University. File photo |
Duckett said McLeod did not return his phone call on Friday afternoon, or a second call he placed to the chancellor on Monday.
McLeod issued a brief statement Monday through FSU spokeswoman Lauren Burgess.
“It’s a personnel issue that we can’t comment on,” McLeod said.
Duckett leaves FSU with a 76-57 record in five seasons with one Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association division championship. His 57.1 winning percentage is the highest of any Fayetteville State men’s basketball coach since the school joined the CIAA in 1954.
Duckett led the Broncos to the CIAA Tournament finals in 1997 and the semifinals his first season.
The Broncos finished 17-10 this season. They won 12 of their final 15 games, including seven straight at one point, which was their longest winning streak in seven years.
Still, Small felt a change was necessary.
“We want to take the program in another direction,” Small said. “When I came in two years ago, they gave me the autonomy to run the athletic department. I’m trying to do it the best way. I was given the autonomy to move the program like I think it ought to be run.”
Duckett declined to comment.
His players and supporters did not.
A sampling:
“This doesn’t make any sense,” sophomore Pat Garrett said. “I thought Coach Duckett had the program going in the right direction.”
“I’m absolutely shocked,” Johnson C. Smith coach Steve Joyner said. “From my point of view, it looked like Rick was doing all the right things.”
“This is not fair,” senior Larry Bratcher said. “Coach Duckett preaches character and doing the right things. And what they’re doing to him doesn’t show much character.”
“I’m extremely disappointed,” said Roy Parker, president of FSU’s Athletic Club. “If people are shocked and outraged, I echo those sentiments.”
“What kind of message is this sending?” asked state Sen. Larry Shaw. “Is this what we want to teach our young people? I’m really shocked. He has so many good qualities. Where can you take the program from here? I’m floored by this. I’m really sorry to hear this.”
“There is no better coach and no classier coach in our league,” said Virginia Union coach Dave Robbins. “He is second to none. I don’t know what they want. What he put on the floor was a class act. Many, many, many teams would be lucky to have Rick Duckett as their coach.”
The decision was not well received by other members of the school’s athletic administration.
“The morale around here is about as low as it can get,” said one member of the athletic department who asked not to be identified.
“This is a joke,” said another member of the athletic department. “You can’t strip a man of his livelihood for no reason at all. This is an embarrassment to the university.”
Small said it was his decision and not that of the alumni nor McLeod.
Dallas Freeman, president of FSU’s National Alumni Association, said he did not want to comment on Duckett’s firing.