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Things got extremely awkward during a postgame press conference from Utah State women’s basketball coach Kayla Ard when she informed media members that she’d been fired at game’s end.
Her Aggie group had just lost a Mountain West Tournament game in blowout fashion to Boise State, falling to 5-26 on the season. After being asked about her plans to turn the program around, she walked off the podium.
Ard was at the helm for four seasons in Logan, posting a 24-90 overall record. That included three seasons in which the team won five games or less.
The final straw for Utah State brass came after the team’s most recent conference tournament outing in which the Ags were walloped by the Broncos, 85-49.
Shortly after that embarrassing defeat, Ard was informed that she’d be relieved of her duties. Unfortunately, the media wasn’t privy to that information quite yet.
It led to a very awkward postgame interaction.
Kayla Ard was asked her plans moving forward into next season. She found it the perfect opportunity to fill everyone in on the firing.
This is crazy! After the Utah State women lost tonight, coach Kayla Ard was asked how they rebuild next season – and she says she just got fired. Never seen anything like this.
“I’m assuming that’s going to be the last question?”
(Video courtesy of The Mountain West) pic.twitter.com/j9yjcMAbjD
— B.J. Rains (@BJRains) March 11, 2024
“How do you plan to rebuild next season?” a reporter asked.
“I’m not going to be rebuilding, I just coached my last game at Utah State,” she responded, sending the room into a state of shock. “I spoke with [Athletic Director] Diana [Sabau], and they’re going in a different direction. I respect her decision and I hope they get a really good coach in.”
Dumbfounded by the bombshell, media wasn’t quite sure what to ask next. After a moment of silence, Ard walked off the stage.
“I’m assuming that’s going to be the last question,” she quipped before making her exit.
Getting the Herm Edwards treatment is no way to go out, and many were critical of Utah State’s administration for not waiting to inform Kayla Ard of her future.
The cat’s out of the bag now, and both parties will now look ahead to the next steps.