CHICAGO - DePaul Athletics Director Jean Lenti Ponsetto announced today a change in leadership of the men’s basketball program. Head Coach Jerry Wainwright is leaving the program effective today and Assistant Coach Tracy Webster will serve as interim head coach for the remainder of the 2009-10 season.

“At this time a change needed to be made in the direction of the men’s basketball program at DePaul University,” said Ponsetto. “We are very grateful to Coach Wainwright for his service to our student-athletes and our university community. He provided unwavering leadership in assisting our student-athletes in both their academic and personal growth. He was instrumental in helping to solidify our infrastructure by improving our staffing, our budget and our facilities.”

Wainwright spent four-and-a-half seasons at the helm of the program after being hired in the Spring of 2005. He compiled a 59-80 record with the Blue Demons and is 245-224 over his career that also includes stops at UNC Wilmington (1994-00) and Richmond (2002-05). Wainwright led DePaul to the NIT quarterfinals in 2007 and finished that season with a 20-14 record. During his tenure, seven players earned either All-BIG EAST or All-Rookie conference honors, while Wilson Chandler was selected 23rd overall by the New York Knicks in the 2007 NBA Draft.

Among the program improvements under Wainwright were renovations of the men’s basketball locker room at Allstate Arena along with locker room and staff office improvements at the Sullivan Athletic Center (a state-of-the-art practice facility constructed and opened in 2000). A new playing floor, scoreboards and lighting also were added at Allstate Arena. The staff added two full-time positions and enhanced travel and recruiting budgets that enabled the program to travel via charter flights and participate in tournaments in Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

With more than 25,000 students, DePaul University is the largest Catholic university in the United States and the largest private, non-profit university in the Midwest. The university offers more than 260 graduate and undergraduate programs of study on two Chicago, four suburban, and three international locations. Founded in 1898 on the Vincentian principle of access for everyone, DePaul remains committed to providing a quality education through personal attention to students from a wide range of backgrounds.