Musselman leaves Arkansas for USC, began efforts to seek new employment as early as summer of 2023 according to sources

By Kevin McPherson

LITTLE ROCK — University of Arkansas men’s basketball coach Eric Musselman is leaving the school to accept the head coaching position at Southern California (USC), according to sources.

Musselman met with Trojans athletics director Jennifer Cohen this week in what was effectively a lead-up to a new-hire coronation. He replaces Andy Enfield, who agreed last week to accept the head coaching job at SMU, a move that was formally announced on Monday, April 1.

Sources indicate Musselman plans to take Arkansas staffers Anthony Ruta, Todd Lee, Caleb Cline, Michael Musselman, and Matthew Musselman with him to join USC’s staff.

Multiple sources began informing this reporter in December 2023 that Musselman — via a combination of himself and through third party channels — let it be known as early as the summer of 2023 that he was interested in moving on from Arkansas following the 2023-24 season while prioritizing his preferences for Louisville and a handful of west coast / Pac-12 schools that included UCLA, Oregon, USC, and Arizona State should openings become available at those programs.

Sources also indicated Musselman had expressed some level of interest in openings or potential openings at Ohio State, Minnesota, Oklahoma State, San Diego State, Florida Atlantic, and SMU.

Arkansas athletics director Hunter Yurachek posted two videos (the first on Thursday, March 28, and the second on Monday, April 1) that in combination effectively signaled that Musselman’s job at Arkansas was uncertain moving forward.

Sources indicate Yurachek’s search to replace Musselman will start with a short list of candidates that includes Ole Miss head coach Chris Beard, Kansas State head coach Jerome Tang, and McNeese State head coach (and recent LSU head coach) Will Wade.

Musselman just had his worst season in nine years as a Division 1 head coach — 16-17 overall (including 6-12 in SEC play) in his fifth campaign as Head Hog in 2023-24 — but prior to that he led the Razorbacks to back-to-back-to-back NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteens spanning ’20-21, ’21-22, and ’22-23 (includes two runs to the NCAAT Elite Eight in ’20-21 and ’21-22).

Musselman’s overall record at Arkansas was 111-59, which included a 52-46 mark against SEC foes and a 59-13 record against non-conference opponents (all three marks include postseason results).

His Arkansas teams finished with 20 or more wins in each of his first four seasons in Fayetteville.

Under Musselman, the Hogs finished SEC regular-season play in ’20-21 with a final 13-4 mark in league play for second place, then a year later in ’21-22 his team’s SEC record was 13-5 for a fourth-place league finish. But in ’22-23 Arkansas slipped to 8-10 for a 10th-place finish in the SEC, which saw a larger slide over the past season as the Hogs’ 6-12 league mark placed them 12th in the final SEC standings. Arkansas went 7-11 in the SEC in Musselman’s first season (’19-20) at the helm.

Arkansas was 13-7 in overall postseason play under Musselman (5-4 in the SEC Tournament and 8-3 in NCAAT). The NCAAT tournament success under Musselman included upset wins over No. 1-ranked and overall-No. 1-NCAAT-seed Gonzaga to advance to the Elite Eight in ’21-22 and defending national champion and regional No. 1-seed Kansas to advance to the Sweet Sixteen in ’22-23.