Report: Iowa Basketball’s Andrew Francis to Leave Program

Iowa basketball’s coaching staff will undergo a shakeup for the first time of the Fran McCaffery era:

The Des Moines Register’s Chad Leistikow is reporting that the University has confirmed Francis is departing the Iowa program, though would not say where he’s going next. It’s believed he’s leaving Iowa to take a coaching position elsewhere.

Francis has been with Fran McCaffery since his Siena days, joining the Saints’ staff as an assistant in 2007. Prior to that, Francis was a video coordinator on Jay Wright’s staff at Villanova from 2005-07.

Francis has been a key recruiter and member of the Hawkeye team since arriving in Iowa City. He was technically Fran’s first hire when he got the Iowa job, and served as the head coach during a home loss to Rutgers this year as Fran got in some, uh, trouble, and was unable to coach.

While on the surface this could look like Iowa’s recruiting will take a bit of a blow, I seriously doubt that McCaffery was blindsided by this news, and he’s had ample time to get his ducks in a row. I look at it as an interesting opportunity to see who will come aboard and possibly shake things up in an Iowa coaching room that could perhaps use some new blood.

All things considered, Francis has been excellent ambassador to the program and has had a helping hand in pulling the team out of the cellar of the Lickliter era. Best of luck to Andrew Francis on his future endeavors!