EarlyWine Posts 4 Losing Seasons, Fired By E. Washington

Less than two days after Eastern Washington ended its men's basketball season with a 79-70 loss to Weber State in the quarterfinals of the Big Sky Conference tournament, Eagles head coach Kirk Earlywine was informed that his contract would not be renewed.

Earlywine learned of his dismissal during a Monday morning meeting with EWU's athletic director Bill Chaves, who, when questioned about the motive of the move, expressed a desire to "make better progress — certainly within the conference — in the future ... and, hopefully, this affords us that opportunity."

Among some names to surface as potential candidates to replace Earlywine are Whitworth coach Jim Hayford; Washington State assistant Jeff Hironaka; Seattle Pacific coach Ryan Looney; and Gonzaga assistant Ray Giacoletti, who was EWU coach from 2000 to 2004.