Thad Matta out as head coach at Ohio State

Thad Matta's time at Ohio State is over as the Buckeyes announced in a press conference Monday that the coach and school will part ways effective immediately.

The move came as a shocker after athletic director Gene Smith gave the longtime frontman a vote of confidence in March and said he'd return. That followed two seasons that were among the worst in Matta's tenure, as the Buckeyes went a combined 38-29 and missed the NCAA tournament both years.

"I felt comfortable after the season when I sat down with Thad that we had a plan," Smith said, as per ESPN's Jeff Goodman. "Recruiting is a major part of it, and we weren't winning the recruiting battles. As we started talking about it Friday, the flow of the conversation took me to the realization as I said to him, 'This might be the time to make a leadership change,' and he agreed."

Matta had been with the Buckeyes for 13 seasons, amassing an impressive 337-123 record overall. He took Ohio State to the Elite Eight three times, including a loss in the 2007 national championship game. He also won five Big Ten regular-season championships and coached future NBA standouts Greg Oden, Mike Conley Jr., and Jared Sullinger.

While Matta is just 49 years old, he's battled injuries throughout his career at Ohio State stemming from a botched back surgery. The injuries have been so severe that an opposing team even told a recruit this year that the coach was dying.

Prior to taking the Ohio State job, the Illinois native was the head coach for one season at Butler and three seasons with Xavier. His career coaching record is 439-154.

Matta will remain with the program to help it find his replacement, and will be paid the remaining three seasons on his contract.