Bruce Weber out at Illinois

Illinois men’s basketball coach Bruce Weber has been fired after nine seasons at the school.

The school made the announcement at a news conference Friday after Weber was informed of his removal earlier in the day.

“It’s difficult to make these decisions when you are talking about someone the quality of person that Bruce Weber is,” athletics director Mike Thomas said. “Bruce is everything you’d want in a coach as it relates to how he represents the university, his student-athletes, his programs and that makes it much more difficult.”