Fifty-one days after the end of Wake Forest’s women’s basketball team’s season, coach Jen Hoover was fired after 10 years at the helm of her alma mater.

The decision to fire the woman who has been a part of both NCAA tournament appearances in program history – first as a star player in 1988, and then as coach in 2021 – about a month and a half after the season was interesting one for athletics director John Currie.

“I’ve determined that this is the right time,” Currie said via Zoom. “Given the overall trajectory of the program, staff departures, et cetera, I felt like this was the right time for us to make a change.”

Adding to the bizarre nature here is that Hoover was in Amelia Island, Fla., this week with Currie and other Wake Forest coaches as part of the ACC’s annual meetings.

“I want to be very clear: Coach Hoover is a great leader and a great person and has worked really hard for Wake Forest,” Currie said. “There’s no issue of any impropriety or anything like that, so don’t even think to go in that direction.”

Wake Forest was 16-17 this past season, finishing in a tie for 11th in the ACC with a 4-14 league record and losing ground after the NCAA tournament bid in the previous season.

Currie harped on staff turnover for the reason on the timing. From last season’s staff, Erin Dickerson Davis became the head coach at William & Mary; it’s unclear if Dane Sparrow or Cherie Cordoba were still on staff, though Currie said there was a complete staff turnover.

“Sometimes there’s really good reasons people are leaving a program,” Currie said. “But we have had pretty consistent turnover in our program. And that does affect the sustainability and trajectory of the program.”

Wake Forest’s news release included a two-paragraph quote from Hoover:

“I am disappointed and deeply saddened to receive the news that I was terminated today without cause,” Hoover said through the release. “I am so proud of our many accomplishments over the past 10 years including the return for the program to the NCAA in 2021.

“Being an alum of this great institution, I put my heart and soul into developing our young ladies on and off the court and in building a successful program. I want to thank all of the players, coaches and staff members who were a part of this journey. I wish all my former and current players the best in all their future endeavors. Go Deacs.”

There was a top hat emoji at the end, which rings true of Hoover as one of the biggest supporters of Wake Forest athletics.

“No one loves Wake Forest more than Jen Hoover, and no one’s worked harder to build a program than she has,” Currie said.

Hoover became the program’s all-time wins leader during last season’s run to the NCAA tournament. She signed a “long-term contract extension” that was announced last June. For her playing career, she was inducted into the school’s athletics hall of fame in 2002.

There are a few inarguable points that justify Hoover’s firing: In an overview, her teams were 143-171 (49-119 in ACC play) and only had one winning season (2015-16). That, along with staff turnover and the rising tide of women’s basketball in the ACC, make the move understandable.

The timing, though, is the bizarre part of it.

Wake’s season ended, as noted, 51 days ago with a second-round loss in the WNIT.

Currie’s process with Wake Forest coaches at the ends of their seasons is the same as his predecessor, Ron Wellman: He conducts a comprehensive review following the final game.

The decision to make a coaching change came independent of the conclusion of the review, it seems.

“Really the conversations that we’ve had over the last month about the program, and then the fact that we’ve had really a complete turnover in our coaching staff is part of what leads us to this point today,” Currie said.

Player retention becomes a crucial part of the process – aside from the obvious in hiring a coach. The May 1 deadline for players to enter the transfer portal and still be able to use their first-time transfer, immediate eligibility waiver gets extended to July 1 for Wake’s women’s basketball players because of the coaching change.

Currie spoke with the team to deliver the news before Wednesday evening’s announcement, and said he feels confident players will stick in the program.

“We’ve got incredible facilities, we’ve got a top-30 nationally ranked university, we play in the best conference in the country, we live in a great city,” Currie said. “I believe our student-athletes see those advantages.

“At the same time, as they have the opportunity to meet our new staff, they’ll be able to make the decisions that they should be able to make. And if it’s not for them, then we’ll wish them well and support them as they go on to their next stop.”