Four years after arriving in Salt Lake City with hopes of restoring Utah men’s basketball to national relevance, Craig Smith is out.
The university announced his dismissal Monday, ending a tenure that produced some memorable wins but never delivered an NCAA Tournament appearance. The decision comes with the Utes sitting at 15-12 overall and 7-9 in Big 12 play, tied for ninth in the conference standings, and likely headed for an eighth straight season without a tournament berth.
Utah athletic director Mark Harlan made it clear in his statement: The program expects more.
“I want to thank Craig for his work and commitment since he arrived in Salt Lake City,” Harlan said. “He has led us to special moments and memorable victories, and Craig has poured his heart into building our current team. However, we have greater aspirations for our men’s basketball program, both within the Big 12 Conference and nationally, and our expectation is to regularly compete in the NCAA Tournament.”
“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. I am confident that our national search, which has already begun, will lead us to the right coach to take our storied program back to national prominence.”
Utah is firing head coach Craig Smith, effective immediately.
Smith had a 65-62 record over the past four seasons with zero NCAA Tournament appearances. pic.twitter.com/aRSNqBbUEA
— College Basketball Report (@CBKReport) February 24, 2025
A Tenure That Fell Short of Expectations
Smith was hired in 2021 after a successful three-year stint at Utah State, where he led the Aggies to three straight NCAA Tournament appearances. But that success never translated at Utah.
In four seasons, Smith compiled a 65-62 record and failed to bring the Utes back to the tournament—something the program hasn’t accomplished since 2016.
This season, Utah flashed potential, earning marquee wins over Kansas and Kansas State earlier this month. But those victories were quickly overshadowed by a frustrating four-point loss to UCF—a team with just five conference wins—followed by a string of inconsistent performances.
This has little to do with Craig Smith’s coaching. This is one of those few times that nobody in his right mind would take this job without saying, “Show me the (NIL) money.” Coaching the team has much less to do with success today than ever before. @UtahMBB
— Fran Fraschilla (@franfraschilla) February 24, 2025
With time running out and an at-large tournament bid looking highly unlikely, Utah opted to cut its losses early, moving on from Smith before the season’s final stretch.
A Tough Road Ahead for the Utes
Utah’s final four regular-season games will be played under interim head coach Josh Eilert, who takes over with the Utes searching for any momentum heading into the Big 12 Tournament.
Their schedule won’t do them any favors.
- Feb. 28 – at No. 22 Arizona
- March 2 – vs. Arizona State
- March 5 – vs. West Virginia
- March 8 – at No. 25 BYU
It would take a deep Big 12 Tournament run—perhaps even a conference championship—for Utah to have any hope of an NCAA bid. More realistically, the Utes will be left watching March Madness from home once again.
What’s Next for Utah Basketball?
Harlan wasted no time initiating a national coaching search, signaling that Utah will aggressively pursue a leader capable of bringing the program back to prominence.
The Utes have a storied basketball history, with a Final Four appearance as recently as 1998, but have struggled to remain relevant on the national stage in recent years. Playing in the loaded Big 12 only raises the stakes, as Utah must now compete with powerhouse programs like Kansas, Houston, and Baylor on a regular basis.
Smith’s tenure wasn’t without bright spots, but in the end, it wasn’t enough. Utah made its expectations clear: Competing in the Big 12 isn’t enough—winning in the Big 12 is the standard.
Now, the search begins for the coach who can make that happen.
