SLU set to part ways with coach Ford, sources say

Saint Louis is expected to move on from head coach Travis Ford after eight seasons, sources told ESPN.

The Billikens’ season ended Wednesday with an 83-73 loss to Duquesne in the Atlantic 10 tournament.

Ford took over the program in 2016, less than two weeks after getting fired by Oklahoma State. He led the Billikens to the NCAA tournament in 2019, winning four games in four days at the Atlantic 10 tournament before losing to Virginia Tech as a 13-seed. The next season, Saint Louis again won 23 games and finished fourth in the Atlantic 10 standings.

The Billikens won a combined 44 games in 2022 and 2023, going 12-6 in the league both seasons. They tied for second in the league a year ago, but didn’t play in the postseason.

After a 4-0 start this season, though, Saint Louis struggled the rest of the way. The Billikens opened A-10 play with one win in their first nine games en route to a 13-20 overall record, going 5-13 in the league.

Prior to taking over at Saint Louis, Ford was the head coach at Oklahoma State for eight seasons, leading the Cowboys to five NCAA tournament appearances. He also spent three seasons at UMass and five at Eastern Kentucky. He played his college ball at Missouri and Kentucky, where he was coached by Rick Pitino.

Indiana State’s Josh Schertz is expected to be a primary target of Saint Louis’ search, sources told ESPN. Schertz led the Sycamores to the Missouri Valley regular-season title this season, going 28-6 overall and 17-3 in the league before losing to Drake in the conference tournament title game.