GREEN BAY – Josh Moon believes the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay men’s basketball team can be relevant again both on the court and in the community despite years of declining attendance and somewhat lackluster play.
The second-year athletic director emphatically pointed out he wouldn’t be here if he didn’t think it was possible. He and the school will get another crack at making it happen with its next hire after Will Ryan was fired Tuesday just 2½ seasons into a six-year contract.
If there ever was a time to make a home run hire, this would be that time.
UWGB is 2-19 entering a game at Northern Kentucky on Thursday, is ranked 360th out of 363 NCAA Division I teams in the nation and has won just 15 times since Ryan was hired.
UWGB men’s attendance is lagging
The average attendance for eight home games this season is listed at 1,903 per contest, but that might be generous in terms of actual fans in the seats. The team hasn’t averaged more than 2,000 since 2018-19.
Perhaps that’s why the team let Ryan go in late January instead of after the season.
“I think it’s looking at the whole program from a holistic view and figuring out how we get this to be where we need it to be,” Moon said. “Right now, the reason for that is kind of twofold. First and foremost, our student-athletes to get them to where we need them to be. Not just athletically, but in all the areas that are part of a successful program. That change in leadership was needed to do that.
