By WJBC Staff

NORMAL – Illinois State Athletics Director Larry Lyons has announced Barb Smith has been dismissed as women’s basketball coach after four seasons.

“We believe a change in direction of the program is necessary,” Lyons said in a news release. “Decisions such as this are very difficult, and we do not make them without very thoughtful consideration. Barb and her staff worked very hard and are well respected on campus and in the community. While many of our evaluation parameters are positive, the competitive results on the basketball floor are not where they need to be.

“Our expectations for our women’s basketball 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 will honor all terms of Barb’s contract and thank her for everything she has done for our women’s basketball student-athletes. We wish her the best moving forward, and we will begin the process to find our next head coach immediately.”

Smith compiled a 28-93 record at ISU.

“I would like to thank Larry Lyons, Leanna Bordner and Illinois State University for an extraordinary experience,” Smith said. “I fell in love with Illinois State and the Bloomington-Normal community. This is a great institution, with genuine people and a community that really supports ISU. I would like to thank all the coaches, players and support staff that worked so hard. I will always be grateful.”