Despite making the NCAA Tournament this past season, Wofford has fired head coach Dwight Perry. Is Wofford’s decision fair or foul?
Making Sense Of Wofford’s Shocking Decision To Fire Dwight Perry
This afternoon, Wofford released a statement announcing that Dwight Perry and associate head coach Tysor Anderson will not lead the team this season. While the reasons are unknown, the timing is surprising, as the 2025-26 college basketball season is just weeks away from beginning.
“Wofford College today announced a change in the leadership of its men’s basketball program. Head coach Dwight Perry and associate head coach Tysor Anderson will no longer lead the team. Assistant coach Drew Gibson, a 2008 Wofford graduate, has been named interim head coach and will guide the program during the transition to new leadership.”
Dwight Perry was previously Wofford’s associate head coach and took over as the interim head coach in the middle of the 2022-23 season. Shortly after, they named him the full-time head coach. Wofford had a 48-43 record during Perry’s tenure. Most importantly, the team is coming off a season that featured a Southern Conference (SoCon) tournament championship and an NCAA Tournament appearance, despite finishing 19-16.
This past season was strange but successful for Dwight Perry’s Wofford
This was a strange season for Wofford, as they had struggled with a difficult non-conference schedule and finished 10-8 in SoCon, good for the 6th best record in the conference. With a 16-15 regular season record, Wofford needed to win the SoCon tournament to receive an NCAA Tournament bid. They ended up winning the SoCon tournament as they defeated teams such as East Tennessee State, VMI, and eventually Furman in the conference championship.
Wofford earned a 15-seed and ended up facing a two-seed Tennessee team in the NCAA Tournament during the first round. They lost 77-62, but this season was successful for the program. Wofford reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019 and made their 6th NCAA Tournament appearance in school history.
Was the firing performance-related or for off-court reasons?
Despite improving every year and making the NCAA Tournament this season, Wofford made the shocking decision to move on from Dwight Perry. The firing could either be tied to performance or a new event within the program.
Even with this year’s successful ending, Wofford still struggled in conference play and had to rely on winning the SoCon Tournament to dance in March. There is a possibility that the program felt that a new voice was needed going forward. The other angle is that there is a possible scandal or unrest within the program.
It is important to note that this is not the first time in the 2020s that Wofford made a coaching change before New Year’s. During the 2022/23 college basketball season, Wofford head coach Jay McAuley took a leave of absence during December and eventually resigned following complaints from players to the university’s administration about McAuley making the team participate in team activities on off days. Wofford also received probation for a year, and McAuley agreed to a two-year show-cause order.
The Last Word
While we failed to learn the exact reasons for Perry’s firing in Wofford’s official statement, it will be interesting to monitor what happens next at Wofford. It is possible that Wofford simply wanted a new voice to coach the team, but there also remains the possibility that Wofford could face new discipline from the NCAA. Regardless, Wofford will be looking to build off the momentum from last year’s postseason results.
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