The Mark Adams era at Texas Tech is over.
Following a loss in the Big 12 Tournament on Wednesday (March 8) and days after he was suspended for a racially insensitive comment directed at a player, the school announced that the 66-year-old Adams has stepped down from his position.
Mark Adams has stepped down as Texas Tech men's basketball coach. pic.twitter.com/KyzFD4exVc
— Carlos Silva Jr. (@cmsilvajr) March 9, 2023
Adams was initially suspended on Sunday (March 5) after the use of an “inappropriate, unacceptable, and racially insensitive comment” he made to a player the week prior.
According to a release on the day of the suspension, Adams was “encouraging the student-athlete to be more receptive to coaching and referenced Bible verses about workers, teachers, parents, and slaves serving their masters.”
Red Raiders Director of Athletics Kirby Hocutt subsequently made the decision to suspend Adams effective immediately in order to conduct a more thorough inquiry of Adams’ interactions with his players and staff. Following his inquiry, Hocutt determined that Adams’ comment was unintentional and an isolated incident, but he still decided to step away as not to be a distraction to the program.
“My lifelong goal was to help and be a positive influence on my players, and to be a part of the Texas Tech men’s basketball team,” Adams said per the school’s release on Wednesday. “However, both the University and I believe this incident has become a distraction for the Texas Tech men’s basketball team and the University, which I care about so deeply.”
After the incident, Adams told Stadium that the comments he made were not racist and that he was quoting the scripture when he told one of his players that there is “always a master and a servant.” Adams also said that he did not apologize to the team afterwards, but addressed the squad in order to explain the situation.
Adams leaves the Red Raiders with a 43-25 record through two seasons, making the Sweet 16 last year. A 1979 graduate of Texas Tech, he was hired in 2016 to join former coach Chris Beard‘s staff and took over at the helm when Beard left for rival school Texas. Interestingly, Beard was also in hot water with his university, getting fired on Jan. 5 following a domestic violence charge that has since been dropped.
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This season, Texas Tech got out to a 10-2 start before losing their next eight games to start conference play. They finished with a 16-16 overall record and a 5-13 Big 12 record, losing to West Virginia in the Big 12 Tournament’s first round and likely missing out on the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017.
Per ESPN sources, North Texas’ Grant McCasland and Oral Roberts’ Paul Mills are expected to be top candidates to replace Adams.
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