Wisconsin interim coach Brad Soderberg was informed Monday he will not be retained next season.
"It was not something decided over a particular day," athletics director Pat Richter
said at an afternoon news conference. "We looked at it collectively."
"I'm sick to my stomach," Soderberg told ESPN.com Monday after Richter told him he was essentially fired. "I wasn't able to do what he wanted. I'm disappointed, but I don't have any regrets. I did everything I could. The biggest regret is I have to move my family again. I've got to tell my kids that's what we're going to do."
Wisconsin (18-11) is coming off a first-round exit in the NCAA Tournament. The sixth-seeded Badgers were upset 50-49 by Georgia State in Boise, Idaho on Thursday.
Soderberg, 38, replaced head coach Dick Bennett when he abruptly resigned in November, citing burnout. Soderberg was a longtime assistant with Bennett and played for him at Wisconsin-Stevens Point.
"Dick wasn't happy about this at all," Soderberg said. "He feels like this is a slap in the face."
Richter said during the season that Soderberg would be a candidate for the position, but the Badgers' struggles at the end of the Big Ten season and early exits from the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments sealed his fate. Soderberg was expected to leave Madison, Wis., Monday to get away for a few days. There was no word whether or not assistants Shawn Hood and Tony Bennett would be retained.
The Badgers are expected to focus their attention on Wisconsin native and Utah coach Rick Majerus and Wisconsin alumnus – Richter acknowledged Monday that Majerus would be a prime candidate if he's interested – and Cal head coach Ben Braun. Both coaches told ESPN.com in the last two weeks that they weren't interested in the job, but that was because they were under the impression that Soderberg would be retained.
"All I know is he (Richter) wants a big-name coach for this job," Soderberg said. "He didn't mention any names."
Majerus told ESPN.com that he doesn't comment on jobs and that his trip Friday to be with his mother in Milwaukee was scheduled a month ago and has nothing to do with the Wisconsin opening. Majerus has been on leave from Utah to aid his mother, who is battling cancer, while also rehabbing from knee surgery and a heart procedure.
A source close to Majerus said he would likely listen to the Badgers, but in the end isn't mentally ready to leave Utah and take on a new challenge.
Soderberg presided over one of the most successful runs of a Wisconsin senior class when the Badgers reached the NCAA Tournament three straight seasons, including a Final Four appearance in 2000.
Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com. Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories
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AUDIO VIDEO
 Brad Soderberg tries to justify Wisconsin's decision to fire him as men's basketball coach.
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Dick Bennett feels responsible for the outcome of Brad Soderberg's tenure at Wisconsin.
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Wisconsin AD Pat Richter explains his decision not to retain interim head coach Brad Soderberg.
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The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Bob Wolfley analyzes Brad Soderbeg's dismissal from Wisconsin.
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