Boston College’s men’s basketball reset under Luke Murray has taken an unusual turn, and the school says it wasn’t driven by the new coach.
Former Eagles radio analyst Kevin Collins said in an interview with Awful Announcing that he and play-by-play partner Josh Maurer were let go last month after 13 seasons together. Collins said the move came after Murray arrived in March and, in his view, was aimed at clearing out any ties to the previous era.
Boston College athletic director Blake James pushed back on that account Tuesday.
“The decision to not renew the contracts of our men's basketball radio announcers was made by Boston College Athletics administrators in consultation with our MMR partner,” James wrote in a statement to The Field of 68. “We wish both Kevin and Josh the best going forward.”
Collins described the decision as coming down to Murray wanting a total reset around the program.
“He's a young head coach, no experience, and he's being given the power to take two guys' careers away from them who have done nothing but try to serve the program and promote the program,” Collins said.
He also said he and Maurer never got the chance to sit down with Murray after his arrival, which only deepened the uncertainty around their future.
“I was always told either Coach Murray is off recruiting, or we have an official visit today, and it's not a good day, we've got a lot going on,” Collins said.
According to Collins, the pair were informed a few days before Aug. 1, a timeline that makes it tougher to land full-time work before college basketball’s 2026-27 season. He said Boston College’s Deputy Athletic Director delivered the news, and that he later took the matter up the chain to Craig Anderson, Boston College’s deputy athletic director and the team’s basketball administrator. Collins added that Anderson pushed back, but that the decision to move on from the longtime broadcasters stood.
“The reasoning that I was given was that Coach Murray basically wants a whole new fresh coat of paint on the entire program and wants no remnants of the past around the program,” Collins said. “We have nothing to do with any of that.
But he wanted us removed. Didn't feel comfortable being around a link to the past, if you will.
My challenge was, well, how can he not feel comfortable around us? He hasn't even given us the chance to meet us.”
The situation has put an early spotlight on Murray, who came to Boston College after working on Dan Hurley’s staff at UConn. Murray spent five seasons at mid-majors before joining Xavier’s staff in 2015, then later moved on to Louisville. His run at UConn was his third coaching stop under Hurley.
Hurley said last season that he viewed Murray as his offensive coordinator at UConn, where the Huskies ran a highly detailed system built around pick-and-pops and high rolls. That partnership helped fuel one of the most successful stretches in recent college basketball, including UConn’s back-to-back national championships in 2023 and 2024.
Murray also played a major role in recruiting for the Huskies, serving as Hurley’s lead recruiter for several key players over the past half-decade, including Alex Karaban, Solo Ball, Cam Spencer, Liam McNeeley and Braylon Mullins.
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