Alumni, Fans Hope Billboard Will Get Coach Fired

The kind of publicity that University of Richmond men’s basketball coach is getting is not the kind anyone wants.

A group of UR alumni and fans organized a billboard campaign on Thursday, calling for the firing of head coach Chris Mooney. The billboard reads: #FireMooney in large letters.

The @FireMooneyMafia has turned to a #RVA billboard to express frustration with @SpiderMBB coach Chris Mooney. This picture sent to me from a #OneRichmond fan. pic.twitter.com/WQEgP4CTfB

— Andrew Wallace (@WallaceESPN) February 21, 2019

The group sent an email to the Richmond ABC affiliate, saying they are "frustrated with the tenure of head coach Chris Mooney." The group said the billboard was their last resort, noting that they had tried other methods to get their message across, including "calls, conversations and emails to athletic department staff members, ceasing donations to the university and athletic department, stopping our season ticket purchases." 

​​​​​​​"The issue is clear – Coach Mooney has failed to live up to the 10-year, $13-million contract he signed in 2011. Our program has clearly underachieved since then, has failed to make the NCAA tournament in the past seven years and is on the brink of its second straight embarrassing losing season. New leadership is necessary," the email read. 

The group acknowledged that the billboard may see some backlash for the stunt.

"Some will say that this is inappropriate and petty or that it will hurt our chances to attract players or our next coach,” the group admitted. “We disagree strongly. We are passionate fans who want only the best for this program and university, nothing more. Spider basketball used to be fun, but now it is horribly stale. We want our program back."