Weatherford College shocks its community with stunning dismissal of coach
The oldest college west of the Mississippi surprised almost everyone this week when it informed the winningest NJCAA Division I basketball coach in the nation his services are no longer needed.
Bob McKinley’s bio is still on Weatherford College’s website, even though he was told on Tuesday that he was being fired as the women’s basketball coach, ending a career at a school that started in 1977.
In the world of junior college basketball, everyone knows Coach McKinley. Since arriving at Weatherford College, McKinley coached the men’s basketball team for 18 years, the women’s basketball team for 30 years, and in six of those seasons he coached both. He also served as the school’s athletic director for 41 years.
“I don’t know if this termination meets the legal definition of ‘wrongful termination,’ but it was handled in a way that was fundamentally wrong and deeply hurtful,” McKinley told the Star-Telegram in an email. “For nearly 50 years I have served and sacrificed for Weatherford College, helping build a program where students and student-athletes could thrive. Those who give that kind of lifelong commitment deserve to be treated with dignity and honesty by the administration. It is unacceptable to verbally promise me the opportunity to coach as long as I wanted, only to present me with a termination letter before the season had even concluded.”
Weatherford College athletics director Jeff Lightfoot told the Star-Telegram, “I cannot comment on personnel matters. I can tell you that we respect Coach McKinley and his impact on student-athletes through the years.”
McKinley is 84; he told the school last year he wanted to coach through the 2026-27 season, and then retire.
The firing of Bob McKinley
The decision to remove McKinley has upset parts of the small community associated with the school that opened in 1869, and says it is “the oldest continuing public community college west of the Mississippi River.”
On Monday, he received an email from Lightfoot asking him to attend a meeting in his office at 9:30 on Tuesday morning. When McKinley arrived to the meeting, according to family members, he was greeted by Lightfoot and the school’s director of human resources.
McKinley was handed a letter of termination from the president of the school, and placed on administrative leave. He was given the right to appeal within 10 business days, which he said he plans to pursue with the school’s board of trustees.
He was told that he could remain on to coach the team in its final game of the season, a home date on March 4 against Ranger College; or, he could be just be done immediately.
“I was simply told I was ‘welcome to coach out the season’ but it was not something they were concerned about — as if the experience of the student-athletes no longer mattered,” McKinley said. “So whether the termination is wrongful or not on paper, it was most certainly the wrong thing to do, and I think my next paycheck will be my last.”
McKinley declined the offer to retire on the spot. He stayed to coach one more game, an 81-63 win over Ranger College that improved the team’s record to 16-11, and 8-8 in conference.
He said he has no intention to sue the school over age discrimination.
“[I] hope that the Board of Trustees will recognize how poorly this matter was handled by the administration and will rescind the termination letter so that the verbal commitment I was given can be honored,” said McKinley, who added he had been previously assured he could coach for as long as he wanted, when he was named the school’s emeritus AD in 2025.
“I would simply like the opportunity to coach one more year.”
Why Weatherford said it fired Bob McKinley
In his tenure as the women’s basketball coach, the team won 16 conference titles, five regional championships with five national tournament appearances and one NJCAA Final Four. He also had 20 NJCAA All-Americans.
He said that “insufficient wins” was the reason cited to justify the firing. The team had losing records in 2023-24 and 2022-23. In the last 14 seasons, the team had 11 winning records, including five 20-win years. Its most recent 20-win season was ‘24-25.
McKinley’s basketball career began at Bowie High School, which reached the state finals in 1959. He was a captain for TCU’s basketball team, where he played from 1962 to ‘64.
He started his coaching career at Pasadena High School before accepting the job at Houston Baptist University. His arrival at Weatherford College was not a step but a destination where he created deep ties to the school. His son, Trey, is the chair of Weatherford College’s kinesiology department.
“One additional year [coaching] would have allowed me to keep the personal promise I made to my late daughter Traci before she passed away from cancer. Traci asked me to stay and support her daughter — my granddaughter Evelyn — through college,” McKinley said. “Evelyn is in the radiology program at Weatherford College and will graduate next year.
“Coaching one more year was simply about keeping my word to my daughter and being here for my granddaughter while continuing the work I love. Selfishly I had envisioned my last game to include a big celebration with my team and many of my former players. After that, I was fully prepared to retire.”
Telling an 84-year-old employee to retire is no big shock.
How Weatherford College chose to do it with an employee of nearly 50 years is.
This story was originally published March 7, 2026 at 6:00 AM.
