NORMAL, Ill. – After four seasons, Illinois State head baseball coach Bo Durkac will not return next season, ISU Director of Athletics Larry Lyons announced Tuesday.
“After evaluating our baseball program, we believe a change in direction of the program is necessary, thus Bo Durkac will not be retained as our head coach,” Lyons said. “Decisions such as this are very difficult, and we do not make them without very thoughtful consideration. Bo and his staff worked very hard and are well-respected on campus and in the community. Many of our evaluation parameters are positive, as we have baseball student-athletes of high character who are very successful in the classroom. However, the competitive results on the field of play are not where they need to be.”
“Our expectations for our baseball program are to compete for Missouri Valley Conference championships and postseason opportunities. We will continue to excel in the classroom and will be leaders on campus and in our community. We are working with Bo to finalize a separation agreement to include summer camps and other contractual issues. We wish him the best moving forward, and we will begin the process to find our next head coach immediately.”
In his four seasons at Illinois State, Durkac’s teams accumulated an overall record of 82-134 and a 27-55 in MVC play.
“I’d like to thank the Illinois State Athletic Department for allowing me to be a part of the Redbird Baseball program for the last nine years and the last four as head coach. I’ve always been proud to call myself a Redbird and am disappointed that we couldn’t produce on the field at the level that Illinois State deserves. This is a bottom-line business, and the bottom line is we didn’t get it done here and that falls on me.”
Illinois State will have no further comment about the search until the announcement of the team’s next head coach.
