Men’s Basketball Coach Pat Chambers Resigns
Patrick Chambers’ time in Happy Valley is over.
Penn State Athletics director Sandy Barbour accepted and confirmed Chambers’ resignation in a statement via Penn State Athletics after an internal investigation of new allegations of inappropriate conduct by Chambers.
After an internal investigation that was completed within the last two weeks, "Both President Barron and I believe this is the right outcome," Barbour said.
Penn State Athletics confirmed that a review of Chambers’ conduct was performed jointly by Penn State’s Affirmative Action and Athletics integrity offices.
Barbour went on to explain that the allegations against Chambers surfaced shortly after former Penn State guard Rasir Bolton came forward about a comment that Chambers made about a "noose around his neck."
Barbour clarified that the allegation was previously unknown to Penn State. She also made it known that recruiting violations were not part of Penn State's investigation.
Barbour announced that assistant coach Jim Ferry will serve as interim head coach for the 2020-21 season and will also be considered for the permanent position. Ferry last served as a head coach at Duquesne University from 2012-2017.
CBS Sports’ college basketball insider Jon Rothstein first reported the news via Twitter.
Chambers, who was entering his 10th season leading the Nittany Lions, had led Penn State to its best record in Big Ten play during his tenure in the 2019-20 regular season. In mid-February, the Nittany Lions were ranked as high as No. 9 overall in the AP Top 25 Poll.
Basketball analyst Jeff Goodman released a statement via Twitter from Chambers which confirmed and addressed his departure.
“I am so proud of all our program has accomplished these past nine years, and I will forever be grateful to the Penn State community for its ongoing support,” Chambers said.
It was reported that student athletes found out about the news today, and Chambers delivered the difficult news to the players himself.
Andrew Destin is a junior majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email ajd6360@psu.edu
