Dallas ? Kansas State fired basketball coach Jim Wooldridge on Thursday shortly after the Wildcats’ season ended with a loss in the first round of the Big 12 tournament.

Athletic director Tim Weiser said Wooldridge needed to get the team into the NCAA Tournament in order to keep his job. By finishing 15-13 following a 73-65 loss to Texas Tech, that wasn’t going to happen, so he was let go.

“The expectations were pretty clear,” Weiser said. “We wanted to be in the NCAA Tournament. We thought the prospects were very good. That’s why I continued saying until our season was over we weren’t going to make any decisions.”

Weiser broke the news to Wooldridge following the game, then told the team at their hotel about an hour later. He returned to the arena to discuss the decision at a news conference.

“I am grateful for the opportunity Kansas State gave us to coach and lead this program,” Wooldridge said in a statement released by K-State. “We wish we could have accomplished more, but it was a great experience and I appreciate the players, staff, administration and our great fans for all they have done to support us.”

Wooldridge, 50, had a 83-90 record at Kansas State, and a career record of 312-237, including stops at Louisiana Tech, Texas State and Central Missouri. Before moving to Manhattan, he spent two years as an assistant with the Chicago Bulls at the start of the post-Michael Jordan era.

The Wildcats took a small step back after going 17-12 last season, although this season they beat top rival Kansas for the first time since 1994 and lost nine games by five points or less. The season was even tougher on Wooldridge because of a bulging disc that required surgery last month, leaving him to work the final six weeks while wearing a neck brace.

“I think we made a lot of progress,” Wooldridge said. “We have kids with a great deal of life. I wish we could have won the game today. It would have been a good way to move forward.”

Wooldridge was fairly popular with players, fans and alumni. Leading scorer Cartier Martin recently called him “a caring coach … a great person off the court.”

“It’s out of my hands,” said sophomore guard David Hoskins, who led Kansas State with 25 points against Tech. “I’m preparing myself to play next year.”

“We appreciate all the hard work Jim and his staff have put in while at Kansas State and we thank them for their efforts,” said Weiser of Wooldridge, who was hired as K-State’s 20th coach on March 13, 2000. “The bottom line is that we have very high expectations for our men’s basketball program and we believe that a change in the direction of the program is warranted at this time in order to achieve those goals.”

“We believe there is a solid foundation in place. We have very good young talent in this program and we believe that Kansas State is an attractive coaching opportunity for the right candidate.”