The Carolinian
USC Upstate Director Julio Freire and head basketball coach Kyle Perry have been fired, according to The Carolinian sources. A memo sent to the faculty subtly wished Freire and Perry well in the future and did not explain their dismissals.
Perry took over for Eddie Payne in October, who retired due to a medical condition, and Freire was Upstate Chancellor Brenden Kelly’s highly celebrated and personal choice to head the athletic department when Lee Fowler retired last summer.
Perry, a long-time assistant under Payne, agreed to a five-year contract that guaranteed him the first two years, according to Friere. But Perry’s final three years would be based on the program’s progress under Friere’s review.
The Spartans finished the season 7-25 overall 2-12 in the Atlantic Sun.
Staff, faculty and athletes, some who did not know of the firings at this posting, expressed shock and bewilderment.
Freire and Perry had already been removed from the university’s web site.
• The Carolinian is the student newspaper for the University of South Carolina Upstate.