It's pretty much official at this point: Jim Larranaga will be leaving George Mason to become the head basketball coach at the University of Miami. George Mason athletic director Tom O'Conner confirmed to the Washington Post that Larranaga is indeed leaving. Via Steven Goff:
George Mason Athletic Director Tom O'Connor tells me Jim Larranaga has accepted Miami's offer to become its basketball coach
Larranaga leaves with a career 273-164 overall record at George Mason, including 13 consecutive winning seasons. He had been talking with George Mason about a possible contract extension since the end of last season, but was unsatisfied with the talks, according to the Washington Post.
Since the Patriots' season ended, Larranaga and George Mason had been engaged in talks concerning a contract extension, university officials said. He also had conversations regarding improved contracts for his staff, sources said.
"It's not about the money," one source said Thursday. "It's about showing a little love."
This somewhat contradicts the point of view of CBS Sports' Gary Parrish, who first broke the story. Parrish wrote that money was indeed the most important factor in Larranaga's decision. He is expected to make over $1 million annually at Miami, which is about double his current base salary of just over $525,000. Larranaga made about $700,000 with incentives last season.