Siena College has fired its men's basketball coach Mitch Buonaguro after losing three seasons at the Division 1 College in Loudonville. The management has already initiated a national hunt to find a successor for Buonaguro.

"I'd like to thank Mitch for his dedication and commitment to Siena basketball the last eight years," Director of Athletics John D'Argenio, said. "This change isn't being made for lack of effort. Basketball is important in the strategic direction of Siena. We have high expectations and aspirations for this program."

The Saints got an 8-24 record after losing 11 straight games and finished ninth in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, this season under Buonaguro. Their overall record was 35-59 in the last three seasons.

Buonaguro said that he was very grateful to the college for giving him the opportunity to coach the team.

D'Argenio said that it was important to find a replacement for Buonaguro as the team needed to get into the winning mode once again; otherwise the team would 100 percent disappear into a crowd.

Initially, Buonaguro served as an assistant under former coach Fran McCaffery, before taking over the role of a head coach in 2010. As an assistant coach, he helped the team win three straight MAAC crowns in 2008, 2009 and 2010 and two NCAA tournament victories.

Buonaguro still had one more year left in his four-year contract, but the management decided to move on.

D'Argenio said that their decision to terminate him was difficult as he is a great person and a professional player.

Assistant coach Craig Carter will supervise the program until a new coach is hired.