UCLA denies rumors of Howland's dismissal

Mar 24, 2013 - 5:58 AM (Sports Network) - Contrary to multiple media reports, UCLA has not fired men's basketball coach Ben Howland, the school announced on Saturday.

According to a Yahoo! Sports report, Howland was notified he was fired just five years after leading the Bruins to their third consecutive Final Four.

UCLA, however, released a statement saying it has not fired Howland, who has spent the past 10 seasons as head coach.

"Contrary to multiple media reports this evening, UCLA has not fired men?s basketball coach Ben Howland," said UCLA Athletics spokesman Nick Ammazzalorso through a release.

The Bruins went 25-9 this season and won the Pac-12 regular-season crown, but fell to Oregon in the conference championship. UCLA was then knocked out in the second round of the NCAA Tournament by Minnesota.

Howland, who took over as head coach in 2003, has guided UCLA to a 223-100 record over that time and seven NCAA Tournament apperances.