LOS ANGELES, Ca- UCLA has announced Basketball Coach Steve Alford has been relieved of his duties immediately. Assistant Coach Murry Bartow has been named interim coach for the rest of the season.
Alford was in charge of the Bruins for 5½ seasons, and led them to four NCAA tournaments and three Sweet 16 appearances.
This season, however, UCLA struggled mightily in non conference play, and are 7-6 after losing their past four games. Before heading to UCLA Alford spent time coaching for the New Mexico Lobos.
Alford was head coach for the Iowa Hawkeyes from 1999-2007. While at Iowa, Alford had a 152-106 record overall for the men's basketball team.
The 54-year-old also coached for the Missouri State Bears and Manchester University Spartans.
Alford played in college for the Indiana Hoosiers and went on to play in the NBA for the Golden State Warriors and Dallas Mavericks before retiring to become a coach in 1991.