A ‘horrendous’ season has cost VCU’s winningest coach, Beth O’Boyle, her job, and the Rams’ fanbase is anything but quiet about the decision. As a result, the Rams assistant coach Kirk Crawford will serve as the interim coach for the remainder of the 2025-26 season.

VCU became the first school to let go of its women’s basketball coach this year, announcing a major shift in college basketball, sitting at an 8-15 record. The firing meant Beth would have to part ways with the team where she spent more than 11 years as a headcoach having joined in April 2014.

O’Boyle might not have a staggering record, unlike the very successful coaches, but she did her part and won many honors for the club. A-10 Coach of the Year, Nation’s Best Turnaround, A-10 Regular Season Co-Champions, among many others. She also happens to be the program’s all-time wins leader.

But college basketball is cutthroat, and the moment your team starts slacking, you have to bear the brunt of failure. The VCU Rams were more than just a sinking ship by the time O’Boyle was let go. They were lost at the bottom of the Mariana Trench with no way of finding their way back to the surface, and that sealed O’Boyle’s fate.

So naturally, her departure from the squad brought up quite some reactions from the fans of the Rams.

Fans Give Their Honest Take On The O’Boyle Situation

“We want to thank Coach O’Boyle for her service to VCU and her dedication to our student-athletes. We will not renew her contract, and she will not coach the remainder of the season. We wish her all the best in her future endeavors. We will begin a national search immediately,” said Ed McLaughlin, VCU Vice President and Director of Athletics, signaling the end of her tenure with the program.

Well, there wasn’t much that they could do at this point, as both the fans and the management had become impatient following VCU’s dismal run, and the fans seemed to second that opinion even further.

While one fan simply said, ‘Thank goodness,’ others remembered the coach who had built a defensive powerhouse, once ranking fourth nationally in scoring defense. The disconnect between that past success and the team’s current state as a ‘shell of its former self’ fueled the fanbase’s frustration.

Top Stories

Giannis Antetokounmpo All but Confirms Warriors Trade With 6-Figure Decision: NBA Rumor

Russell Wilson Breaks Silence on Connection to Jeffrey Epstein As Discreet Seahawks Contract Decision Reportedly Exposed

Everyone Notices Caitlin Clark’s Reaction After Reggie Miller’s Viral “Disrespect” on NBC

NFL Makes Punishment Decision on Sam Darnold’s Seahawks After NFC Conference Championship Win

Canadian MMA Veteran Matt MacGrath Dies at 46 After Cancer Battle

LIV Golf in Danger as Bryson DeChambeau Publicly Rejects Drastic Changes He ‘Didn’t Sign Up’ For

O’Boyle was the same coach who guided the Rams to three Atlantic 10 Championship games, and the Rams boast the most regular-season Atlantic 10 wins since 2018-19, but all that was past glory.

“Thank you, @coachoboyle,” said that fan who admired her past work, but not everyone felt the same. The majority had realized it was time to infuse the team with some new, reinvigorated energy.

“12 seasons is a looooong time. I want to see a coach who can bring some competition and step up recruiting. As a Ram fan, it’s hell seeing Maggie Doogan lighting things up over at Richmond. Love watching our guys, but really feel like the city will support a strong women’s team as well,” said another fan who is worried about seeing their team hit this low.

When your team is doing badly, it hurts, but when your dire rivals are doing better, it’s unexplained agony. The VCU fans don’t like Richmond, and the Capital City Classic is a testament to that. So when you see a player like Maggie Doogan from the Spiders having a splendid season- 22.7 pts, 8.5 rebounds, 4.4 assists,52.2 FG%, you just can’t help but feel even more bitter.

For the record, Maggie torched the Rams in their last game -22 pts and 10 rebounds, leaving a helpless VCU behind 77-65.

With the change fans called for now a reality, all eyes turn to interim coach Kirk Crawford to see if he can salvage the season and restore balance to a program desperate for a new direction.