Brian Lebowitz led Franklin College to HCAC tournament titles in both of his seasons at the helm.
Submitted photo | Zach Stringer
Brian Lebowitz, head men’s basketball coach at Franklin College the past two seasons, announced Monday that he is stepping down from his position.
“I accepted a job outside of coaching,” said Lebowitz, 30, who posted a 23-21 record with the Grizzlies and led the team to back-to-back Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament championships. “It’s in financial services. I have my MBA (from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business), so it’s what I’ve always been trained to do.
“It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while. Coaching in general just wasn’t the right fit for me and my family.”
Franklin College said in a statement that it will conduct a nationwide search for a replacement.
Lebowitz was hired to be part of Kerry Prather’s coaching staff prior to the 2014-15 season. He was named associate head coach during the 2019-20 campaign and promoted to head coach in March 2020.
In each of the past four seasons, Grizzlies teams have advanced to at least the semifinals of the HCAC tournament. Last year’s title snapped a 13-year dry spell. No NCAA tournament was played last season due to the COVID-19 pandemic; Lebowitz led Franklin College there last week in what was his final go-round.
Franklin College lost at Illinois Wesleyan, 73-55, in the first round on Friday.
Lebowitz informed his players of his decision to relinquish his coaching duties this past weekend.
“That was the hardest part of the decision,” he said. “It’s been an honor. One of the coolest experiences of my life. To have as much success as we’ve had, I just appreciate the opportunity the school gave me.”
“The part I loved was coaching our players, but there are a lot of other things about coaching that are a grind. At some point, I just wanted to move onto something else.”
