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The Utah basketball team fired head coach Craig Smith on Monday midway through his fourth season in Salt Lake City. The timing of that decision is interesting given the program’s performance relative to expectation.
The Utes were picked to finish dead last in the preseason by Big 12 media. They’ve since gotten off to a 15-12 start and are tied for 9th in the conference standings.
BREAKING: Utah is parting ways with Craig Smith, source told @TheFieldOf68.
Strange timing.
Utah is 7-9 in the Big 12.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) February 24, 2025
The team landed arguably its biggest win of the season just last week when it took down Kansas. The Utes then knocked off Kansas State a few days later.
Utah remains on the bubble in terms of NCAA Tournament talk with four games left to play in the regular season. They’ll finish the year with rival BYU in Provo. Most believe the Cougars had something to do with Craig Smith’s firing.
BYU made a significant investment into its basketball program after hiring new coach Kevin Young in the offseason. He immediately convinced pro prospects Kanon Catchings and Egor Demin to join his roster.
Young’s team is 19-8 this season. They’ll be competing in the Big Dance next month. That success is expected to continue into 2025-26 due to the program’s focus on NIL.
The Cougars landed the commitment of AJ Dybantsa last December. The nation’s top prospect secured a bag north of $4 million with that pledge.
Utah, meanwhile, reportedly ranks near the bottom of the Big 12 in NIL spending. Seeing its rival’s upward trajectory, The Utes opted to make a change.
BYU’s investments and success probably has more to do with Craig Smith’s firing than anything else.
— Trilly Donovan (@trillydonovan2) February 24, 2025
Athletic director Mark Harlan released a statement on the firing Monday afternoon. He confirmed that NIL played a role in Smith’s exit.
“After evaluating our program under Craig’s leadership, I believe a change is needed to get us to where we want to go… We have continued to invest in our men’s basketball program, adding staff, increasing compensation and significantly enhancing NIL opportunities with our partners for our student-athletes. And our investments will only grow.”
-Mark Harlan
Craig Smith wasn’t able to secure lucrative deals for his players while rival BYU spent boatloads on success. Despite exceeding expectations this season, administration didn’t believe Smith would take the next step without increasing NIL opportunities. The search for his replacement starts now.