On Monday afternoon, Leonard Hamilton, Florida State’s longtime head men’s basketball coach, announced that he was stepping down at the end of the season.
Hamilton, 76, has been the Seminoles’ head coach for 23 seasons and built up a basketball program at an institution traditionally known as a football school.
“I am deeply thankful for the tremendous support of our fans, alumni, and everyone associated with Florida State throughout my time here,” Hamilton said in a statement.
He will leave as FSU’s all-time winningest basketball coach and fifth on the list of all-time winningest coaches in ACC history behind legendary coaches Mike Krzyzewski of Duke, Roy Williams and Dean Smith of North Carolina and Gary Williams of Maryland.
“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,” said FSU President Dr. Richard McCullough.
Hamilton is also one of the most decorated coaches in the sport. He won Big East Coach of the Year in 1995 and 1999 and ACC Coach of the Year in 2009, 2012 and 2020, making him the only person to earn multiple Coach of the Year honors in both the ACC and the Big East.
But to Hamilton, the biggest awards come from what his players do as they take the next step in their lives.
“If I only evaluate my success with NCAA trips and Coach of the Year awards, then I can’t look at myself in the mirror.,” he said to the Florida Times-Union in a previous interview. “If I’m not impacting young men to grow with the tools I’ve been given, I haven’t done my job. You’re taking people at the most important part of their life – teenagers going into adulthood – and trying to develop not just basketball players, but good husbands, fathers and citizens.”
While he hasn’t announced his next move, the school has begun the search process.
