The Jeff Wulbrun era for DU men’s basketball appeared to be on the upswing last March with a trip to the Summit League championship game.
But after the Pioneers stumbled to a nine-game losing streak between December and January this winter, and Wulbrun was placed on leave in February, it turned out to be the high point. And now the Pios are looking for a new men’s basketball coach for the third time in the last 10 years — with zero NCAA Tournament bids to show for it.
Wulbrun and the University of Denver mutually agreed to part ways, the school announced in a news release Thursday afternoon.
“I’d like to thank Karlton Creech for giving me the opportunity to become the head coach at the University of Denver four years ago,” Wulbrun said in a statement released by the university.
“I have always enjoyed my relationship with prestigious academic institutions, and I believed DU was a great fit for me. It is with tremendous appreciation and gratitude that I thank the players I had the privilege of coaching at DU. I am a better man and coach because of the life experiences we shared together. Finally, I’m very proud of the progress and growth we were able to make as a program in the last four years and I can honestly say I have met and established lifelong relationships with some of the nicest people during my time at DU.”
The 64-year-old first-time Division I head coach leaves the school with a 53-74 overall record. The Pios had one .500 season under his watch — a 17-17 campaign in 2023-24 that saw the program reach its first conference title game since 2005. DU lost that game, 76-68, to South Dakota State.
Wulbrun took over for Rodney Billups, who went 48-94 over five seasons at DU, culminating with a 2-19 record in 2020-21 that led to his exit. Wulbrun led the Pios to 11 wins in his first season, which was the most by the program since 2017-18. But the progress that was made over his first three seasons fell flat in Year 4 — a season that finished with assistant Shammond Williams coaching the team over the final three games after Wulbrun was placed on leave for unspecified reasons.
The Pioneers have had just three winning seasons since joining the Summit League in 2013: 16-14 under Billups in 2016-17 and two 16-15 campaigns under Joe Scott in 2015-16 and 2013-14. The Pios have yet to qualify for the NCAA Tournament since joining Division I in 1999.
Williams will continue to serve as the program’s interim head coach, the school said in the news release announcing the decision, while athletic director Josh Berlo begins a national search.
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