Longtime Florida State basketball coach Leonard Hamilton is stepping down at the end of the season.
Hamilton, who is being sued by six former players over claims he failed to deliver on name, image, and likeness (NIL) promises, made the announcement on Monday after a team meeting.
“I’m very fortunate to be able to have given this job my all with no regrets,” Hamilton said in a statement. “Every head coach inherits a legacy and is obligated to leave the job better than they inherited it. I’m very proud of what we have been able to accomplish here over the last 23 seasons.
“We were a consistent contender, and we created success for our players during their time here. So many of them have gone on to be successful in life. I hope that it will be remembered as my legacy.”
The 76-year-old Hamilton is one of the longest-serving coaches in college basketball. He is the third Division I head coach to retire this season, following Virginia’s Tony Bennett and Miami’s Jim Larrañaga, both of whom are in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Hamilton is ranked 10th among active Division I coaches in wins. He coached at Miami and then with the NBA’s Washington Wizards before coming to Florida State in 2002. Under his leadership, the Seminoles made 16 postseason appearances and had 12 seasons with 20 or more wins.
FSU won the ACC Tournament in 2012 after defeating Miami, Duke, and North Carolina in back-to-back-to-back games. The Seminoles also won the 2019-20 regular-season ACC title before the pandemic ended postseason play.
However, FSU has struggled recently, losing four straight games, including three on the road. The team sits at 13-9 heading into a home game against Notre Dame. Hamilton is in the final year of his contract, which pays him $2.25 million annually.
Hamilton led FSU to Sweet 16 appearances in 2018, 2019, and 2021. The 2019-20 team was viewed as one of FSU’s best, and analyst Dick Vitale even wrote a book claiming the Seminoles would have won the national title if the season hadn’t been cut short by COVID-19.
But since the Sweet 16 trip in March 2021, FSU has missed both the NCAA Tournament and the NIT. The team has gone 56-62 in the four seasons since, including a difficult 9-23 season in 2022-23 due to injuries.
Hamilton will coach FSU’s final nine regular-season games and the ACC Tournament.
Despite the team’s struggles, Hamilton has been praised for his efforts in graduating nearly all of FSU’s four-year players since he arrived in Tallahassee over 20 years ago. However, the recent lawsuit has become a major story. The former players claim Hamilton didn’t fulfill a promise to secure each of them $250,000 in NIL compensation.
The players—Darin Green Jr., De’Ante Green, Cam’Ron Fletcher, Josh Nickelberry, Primo Spears, and Jalen Warley—filed a lawsuit in Leon County Circuit Court in December. They claim Hamilton promised the money from his “business partners” but the payments never came.
The lawsuit states that the players walked out of a practice last season because of the missed payments and considered boycotting a February 2023 game against Duke, but ended up playing after Hamilton promised the payments, which never arrived.
“Coach Hamilton’s personal character and integrity, and his leadership, set a tremendous standard for all of FSU Athletics,” said FSU athletic director Michael Alford. “Few people have been as important in building the positive reputation of Seminole Athletics.”
FSU president Dr. Richard McCullough added, “Leonard Hamilton is a beacon of class and integrity whose leadership serves as an indelible example that competitive excellence, academic achievement, and community service are attainable at a leading public institution.
Coach Hamilton’s legacy extends far beyond Tallahassee and college basketball. He is one of the most respected and beloved ambassadors of FSU across the nation and in his profession.”
