Rashon Burno will not return as Northern Illinois coach next season, the school announced Saturday, after five seasons in charge of the program.
The Huskies' season ended Friday with a 94-55 loss to Akron. They ended the campaign on a five-game losing streak and failed to reach the Mid-American Conference tournament.
"We thank Coach Burno for his efforts leading our men's basketball program over the past five seasons," athletic director Sean T. Frazier said in a statement. "Under his leadership, our men's basketball program has excelled academically, and we appreciate the commitment to our student-athletes and wish him all the best going forward."
Burno showed signs of improvement in his first two seasons at the helm, taking the Huskies from 2-12 in the MAC the season before he arrived to 6-14 in 2021-22 and 9-9 in 2022-23. The sixth-place finish in 2023 was the peak of Burno's time at NIU, however, as the team took a step back in 2023-24 and then went a combined 6-30 in MAC play over the past two seasons.
Burno, who played at DePaul, was considered one of the best assistant coaches in the country before being hired at NIU in 2021. He spent three seasons at Florida under Billy Donovan, going to the Final Four in 2014, and was at Arizona State under Bobby Hurley for six seasons. In high school, Burno played at St. Anthony in New Jersey for Hurley's father, Bob Sr.
"I would like to thank Sean Frazier and President Freeman for the opportunity to lead the NIU men's basketball program, after deliberation with my family, I have decided to step away to explore other opportunities," Burno said in the statement.
