One of the brightest stories in the women’s March Madness tournament is now shrouded by a dark cloud after the University of Virginia fired basketball coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton.
Under Agugua-Hamilton, the Cavaliers went from playing in the ‘First Four’ to running all the way to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2000.
However, over the weekend, UVA announced her firing in a short statement as USA Today reported she was subject to an internal investigation over a toxic culture developing in the program.
The outlet also reported there had been allegations of mistreatment of her staff.
Moreover, all but two players on the Cavaliers’ team were preparing to enter the transfer portal after the announcement of the coach’s firing, according to Virginia sports reporter Jerry Ratcliffe.
He added that Agugua-Hamilton created an environment where her staff feared for their jobs due to her abusive behavior toward them and threats to fire them.
Virginia women’s basketball coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton was fired and accused of creating a ‘toxic culture’ within her program that had nearly every player looking to transfer out
The coach guided Virginia from the First Four to the Sweet 16 after upsetting two-seed Iowa
‘It was a toxic, nightmarish atmosphere,’ a source told him.
The school did not provide a reason why they fired Agugua-Hamilton – who had one year remaining on her contract when the decision was made. The Cavaliers have begun a national search for their next head coach ‘immediately.’
After being hired in 2022, Agugua-Hamilton led Virginia to a 70-58 record during her time in Charlottesville. She previously coached at Missouri State.
In her final March Madness with the women’s team, she led Virginia to the Sweet 16 and became the first squad from the First Four to reach that stage – which was clinched with an upset victory over two-seed Iowa.
The Cavaliers were eventually knocked out by three-seed TCU.
Agugua-Hamilton’s firing was a shock to many, including South Carolina women’s coach Dawn Staley – who played college basketball at the school.
‘I did reach out to our athletic director at Virginia and she just told me they did part ways. I don’t know why. We’ll talk,’ Staley said.
‘I did reach out to Coach Mox to check on her. I didn’t have time to have a conversation with her. I don’t know what went wrong. She had them on the right track.’
