ollege basketball coach Jim Larranaga, who led the University of Miami to its first-ever Final Four run in 2023, and coached underdog George Mason to the Final Four in 2006, is stepping down according to multiple reports Thursday.
Michelle Kaufman of the Miami Herald was first to report Thursday that Larranaga’s announcement could come later in the day.
Larranaga, 75, has been the head coach of the University of Miami Hurricanes men’s basketball team since 2011. According to the Herald, he was under contract through the 2026-27 season.
Larranaga had a 274-174 record since leaving George Mason for Miami, making him the winningest coach in program history. In 14 seasons, Larranaga led the Hurricanes to six NCAA Tournament appearances, including four trips to the Sweet 16.
This season, Miami is 4-8 and has lost 18 of its past 22 games dating to last season.
Larranaga, a Bronx native, began his college coaching career in 1977 with Division II American International College. Since then, his list of career accolades has grown long: the Clair Bee Coach of the Year Award (2006), Adolph Rupp Cup (2013), AP College Coach of the Year (2013), Henry Iba Award (2013), Naismith College Coach of the Year (2013), MAC Coach of the Year (1997), two-time CAA Coach of the Year (1999, 2011), and two-time ACC Coach of the Year (2013, 2016).
Before coaching, Larranaga was a standout at Providence College, where he was the team’s top scorer as a sophomore and junior, the team captain as a senior in 1970–71, and graduated as the fifth-highest scorer in school history with 1,258 career points.
Larranaga did not become a household name until leading George Mason to one of the most celebrated underdog performances in college basketball history. The Patriots entered the 2006 tournament as a No. 11 seed in the Washington, D.C. Regional, facing Michigan State, which had reached the Final Four the previous year. The Pats pulled out a 75–65 victory — the first-ever for both the coach and the program.
Next was a matchup against North Carolina, the defending national champions. After digging an early 16–2 hole, George Mason stunned the favorites by winning 65–60. Playing their next game about a half-hour from their Virginia campus, the Patriots won a rematch with Wichita State, 63–55, advancing to a regional final against No. 1 seed UConn.
An 86–84 overtime victory made George Mason only the fourth team not from a BCS automatic-qualifier conference to make the Final Four in eight years. Their improbable run ended with a 73–58 loss to eventual national champion Florida.
Miami hired Larranaga to lead a program that went 21-15 the year before, but only 6-10 in Atlantic Coast Conference play. The Hurricanes improved to 20-13 overall the next season, and 9-7 in the conference.
The Hurricanes play at Boston College on New Year’s Day