UPDATED: Murphy was Fired at Arizona State

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UPDATED AT 7:20 PM ON DECEMBER 13TH

By: Justin Karp, Pitchfork Nation

The turn that most of us that follow ASU baseball expected in the mysterious departure of head coach Pat Murphy has finally arrived.

It has steered us directly into a tree.

New documents show that Arizona State personally delivered a letter to Murphy on November 20, the same day he announced his immediate resignation, from AD Lisa Love stating that he was being terminated without cause, according to Jeff Metcalfe and Robert Anglen of the Arizona Republic.

This all serves to prove something I think we all kept in the back of our mind since the announcement – Pat Murphy was, in fact, fired by Arizona State.

The letter delivered to Murphy states that he would be “placed on administrative leave with pay” until Dec. 11. The letter also tells him to turn in all outstanding ASU property, including complimentary basketball tickets, and that his membership at the ASU golf course was being cancelled.

Love declined comment Saturday, saying Murphy’s departure was a personnel matter. ASU Vice President Virgil Renzulli said Saturday that the university has Murphy’s resignation letter on file.

What this sounds to me, then, is that Murphy basically told Love “you can’t fire me, because I quit.”

Renzulli also pointed out that his letter referred to a “nominal resignation,” which is a legal term for being forced out of a position.

Gulp.

UPDATE #1: Pat Murphy has released a statement to the Arizona Republic which was linked to by Pitchfork Nation.

Without warning or explanation I was terminated as Arizona State head baseball coach. This was a decision—unprecedented in its timing—that was not dictated by me and isn’t something I agree with. I look forward to my next job coaching in the NCAA.

“During my 25 years as a head coach I have worked hard to build programs based on transparency, integrity, and hard work. While I have answered many questions surrounding my departure, I have been left with many unanswered questions by those who made the decision to let me go.

I’d stay tuned to The College Baseball Blog and Pitchfork Nation as this story is going to get nasty in the coming weeks.