Change is coming to some basketball schools in the state of Michigan, though Michigan and Michigan State coaches Dusty May and Tom Izzo aren’t going anywhere.
Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan both announced on Sunday, March 8, that they are firing their respective men’s basketball coaches.
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Dwayne Stephens, a longtime former Michigan State assistant, has been fired after four years at Western Michigan, and Eastern Michigan announced Stan Heath is out in Ypsilanti.
The 2025-26 season was Heath’s fifth in Ypsilanti and he posted a 57-99 record during that time. He previously coached for seven seasons at South Florida, five years at Arkansas and one year in 2002 at Kent State, where he went 30-6 and made the Elite Eight with Trevor Huffman and future NFL star Antonio Gates leading the way.
More recently, Eastern Michigan basketball has been caught up in multiple gambling scandals. In total, three EMU players were indicted in an alleged point-shaving scandal.
Da’Sean Nelson, Jalen Terry and Carlos Hart were indicted in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on Jan. 14, named among 39 college basketball players across 17 mid-major programs involved in a large-scale point-shaving scheme from 2022-25.
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BACKSTORY: 1 current, 2 ex-EMU players indicted in alleged point-shaving scheme
Eastern Michigan Eagles head coach Stan Heath works the sideline against the Cincinnati Bearcats in the second half at Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio, on Nov. 26, 2025.
Nelson and Terry were accused of point-shaving while at EMU, while Hart was on the 2025-26 team after previously playing for South Georgia State, New Orleans and Valdosta State. Hart is accused of participating in the scheme while playing for New Orleans in the 2023-24 season. A third player, Jalin Billingsley who refused to cooperate in the initial investigation with Nelson and Terry, was not listed in the indictment.
There was no indication from EMU that the gambling scandals had anything to do with Heath’s firing.
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“We are grateful for Coach Heath’s commitment to this program, which spans five years as head coach and more than four decades as a student-athlete and proud alumnus of this University,” Scott Wetherbee, EMU’s athletic director, said in a statement. “He cares deeply about Eastern Michigan, and I wish him and his family the very best.”
As for Stephens, he took over in Kalamazoo in 2022-23 and never got the program off the ground, going 42-84 over his four years and never posting a record better than 12-20.
“Coach Stephens has elevated our men’s basketball program in many ways during his tenure as our Head Coach,” Dan Bartholomae, WMU’s athletic director, said in a statement. “He has represented our Broncos with integrity and class, and we are grateful for his contributions. As the world of intercollegiate athletics continues to evolve, and as we anticipate the opening of the finest basketball training and competition venue in the Country, we believe it is in our best interests to seek new leadership and direction for our program. These decisions are challenging, and we will move forward with a focus on championship level success in an exciting new home environment.”
Andrew Birkle is an assistant sports editor at the Free Press. Contact him via email at abirkle@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Eastern Michigan, Western Michigan both fire basketball coaches
