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Paul Corsaro is attempting to clear his name after being fired from Indiana University Indianapolis this week. The basketball coach vehemently denied the alleged bad behavior that led to his dismissal.
Details of that decision are still unclear, though the mistreatment of his players appears to be the root cause. The school hasn’t provided much more context, making the situation all the more confusing.
Corsaro just wrapped up Year 1 with the Jaguars, winning 10 games in his debut season. That was a step in the right direction for a program that had gone just 14-79 the three years prior.
It appeared the team would be able to build on that foundation as it was returning nearly 60% of its experience from the previous campaign. Corsaro was able to convince players to stay at IU Indy rather than test the transfer portal waters.
Soon after filling out his 2025 roster, the news of his firing broke. After an investigation into his behavior was launched, administration decided it was time to move on.
“His behavior did not meet the university’s values and standards regarding the treatment of student-athletes.”
-IU Indy statement
Clarity on the wrongdoing was not given, though the university attempted to further explain its decision with questions being raised. “Last month, IU Indianapolis Athletics received allegations from six individuals who had played under Coach Paul Corsaro at IU Indianapolis,” the school said.
“Based on the complaints, the IU Office of Vice President and General Counsel conducted an investigation and concluded that Corsaro’s behavior did not meet the university’s values and standards regarding the treatment of student athletes. Based on these conclusions, IU Indianapolis has dismissed Paul Corsaro. The search for a new coach will begin immediately.”
To this point, no players have come out to either defend the coach or support his firing. No specific incident has been pinpointed. Paul Corsaro denied the accusations in a statement of his own on Tuesday night.
— Paul Corsaro (@CoachCorsaro) May 13, 2025
After releasing that statement, the head coach began reposting a series of replies on social media, one of which called the university “shady.”
“Not the first time they’ve been shady and cowards behind their actions,” the response read. “Goodluck with the next steps.” Another repost said, “Battle the allegations… they hated to see you bring winning culture to Indianapolis!”
Paul Corsaro is trying to clear his name following what he feels to be false allegations. He denies mistreating his players, saying only that he worked to build a “strong culture” at IU Indy.
It will be interesting to see if further steps are taken by the coach in the form of legal action. He stands by his behavior and believes it’s his employer who’s in the wrong.