Air Force parts ways with men's basketball coach Joe Scott

Air Force and men’s basketball coach Joe Scott have parted ways, the academy announced Friday. He had been serving an indefinite suspension amid an investigation into the program.

Scott was under investigation for alleged issues involving treatment of cadet-athletes, Air Force said. At the time, the Falcons had a 3-14 overall record and were in the midst of a 10-game losing streak. That skid is now 19 straight losses entering Saturday’s game against UNLV as Air Force sits at 3-23 on the year.

In a press release Friday, Air Force did not specify whether the decision to mutually part ways with Scott was connected to the investigation. Athletics director Nathan Pine said it was time for “a new voice” in the program.

“Coach Scott’s passion for the game of basketball has long been evident in his competitive and direct coaching style. It was this coaching style that guided Air Force Basketball to some of the program’s most memorable achievements during his initial tenure at the Air Force Academy,” Pine said in a statement.

“This is a different day, and now is the right time for a new voice and a new approach to drive the culture and success of the men’s basketball program, aligned with the Air Force Academy’s mission of forging leaders of character developed to lead in our Air Force and Space Force. We thank Coach Scott for his 10 years of service to the Academy and wish him and his family well.”

Scott is in his second stint as Air Force head coach after previously leading the Falcons from 2000-04. Assistant coach Jon Jordan has been serving as the program’s interim head coach during Scott’s suspension.

Scott turned Air Force around in his four years as head coach from 2000-04. The Falcons went from an 8-20 record upon his arrival to a 22-7 mark in 2004 to win the Mountain West and make the NCAA Tournament. From there, he be became the head coach at his alma mater, Princeton, from 2004-07.

Denver then hired Scott as head coach in 2007 and he stayed there until his departure in 2016. Following stints as an assistant at Holy Cross from 2016-18 and Georgia from 2018-20, he returned to Air Force in 2020.

Before embarking on his coaching career, Joe Scott got his J.D. degree from Notre Dame’s law school in 1990 following his graduation from Princeton. He got into coaching in 1991 as an assistant at Monmouth and first worked at Princeton from 1992-2000 as an assistant. That’s when Air Force first hired him as head coach.