Utah State's Kaya Ard bluntly revealed she was fired mid-press conference ahead of official school statement

Utah State women’s basketball head coach Kayla Ard will no longer be with the team going forward. For fans of the team, that may not be a surprise, but how that news was revealed was a bit unconventional. Ard was asked to share how she was going to rebuild next season. That’s when she dropped that she had been fired despite seemingly no known announcement at the time from the team.

The Utah State women’s basketball team has had a tough time. Under head coach Kayla Ard, they’ve only won nine games in the past two seasons and just two in the Mountain West Conference. Ard’s overall record isn’t much better, finishing 24-90 in four years. So, it’s very likely that Ard getting walking papers was always an option. However, dropping this news mid-press conference stunned everyone.

This is crazy! After the Utah State women lost tonight, coach Kayla Ard was asked how they rebuild next season – and she says she just got fired. Never seen anything like this.

"I'm assuming that's going to be the last question?"

(Video courtesy of The Mountain West) pic.twitter.com/j9yjcMAbjD

— B.J. Rains (@BJRains) March 11, 2024

Here’s what she told a reporter who asked about rebuilding next season (See the 20:36 mark of the video link):

“I’m not going to be rebuilding. I just coached my last game at Utah State. I spoke with Diana [Sabau], and they’re going in a different direction, and I respect her decision and I hope they get a really good coach in.”

Utah State University Vice President and Director of Athletics Diana Sabau later released a statement wishing Ard well in her future endeavors, saying the team needed to make a change.

Feature image courtesy of The Mountain West Conference.