By Ben Leonard
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AP photo–Former Stanford head coach Johnny Dawkins
STANFORD–After another disappointing season for the Stanford Cardinal, the athletic department has announced that eight-year veteran head coach Johnny Dawkins will not return next season. The news came just a day after the team was not given the chance to defend its NIT title and decided not to accept a bid to one of the three lower-tier postseason tournaments.

There had been rumblings from the Stanford fanbase with attendance dropping precipitously and the team’s performance lagging. Dawkins made the NCAA tournament just once in his eight years with the program, but won two NIT championships in his time on The Farm.

Dawkins will certainly be missed on The Farm — he was a class act and a standup man, but the results just couldn’t materialize for the former Duke star. Despite high-level recruiting, Dawkins finished his Stanford career with a 156-115 record, and never finished above fifth in the Pac-12/10 in his tenure.

“This decision was not easy and it was a very difficult discussion for both Johnny and me, but like everything else during his tenure at Stanford, he handled it with class, respect and the utmost concern for his student-athletes,” Stanford AD Bernard Muir stated in a press release. “There are so many great things that Johnny was able to accomplish on The Farm, including improving the graduation rate, achieving an Academic Progress Rate of 1000, an NCAA Sweet 16 appearance and two NIT championships. The student-athletes Johnny coached during his tenure at Stanford represented the University with class and humility.”

Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News has reported that the school “is expected to pursue” Golden State Warriors’ assistant and former Stanford standout Jarron Collins to replace Dawkins. Other candidates are expected to include UC Irvine head coach Russell Turner and Los Angeles Lakers assistant Mark Madsen, among others.