Ricardo Patton received his walking papers from NIU on Wednesday, four seasons and 83 losses after being hired as the men’s head basketball coach.

NIU Athletic Director Jeff Compher confirmed through niuhuskies.com that Patton will not return next season. The 2011-12 season would have been the final year of a five-year contract signed by Patton in 2007.

“I appreciate the hard work and dedication to Northern Illinois University and our men’s basketball program that Ricardo and his staff have shown over the past four years,” Compher said. “We wish all of them the best in the future.”

Compher met with Patton at 3 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon to let him know NIU would not be retaining his coaching staff. Shortly after the meeting, the staff gathered the team to inform them of Compher’s decision. According to assistant coach Todd Townsend, senior Xavier Silas and junior Lee Fisher were the only two players not present.

The move came less than 24 hours after the Huskies lost to Bowling Green in the first round of the MAC Tournament. NIU finished the 2010-11 season with a 9-21 record overall, and a 5-12 record in Mid-American Conference play.

In his four seasons in DeKalb, Patton went 19-44 in MAC play, while earning a 35-83 record overall.

“Although we have not won as many games as any of us would have liked, I do feel that we won in some other very significant areas in our men’s basketball program,” Patton said on niuhuskies.com.

The Huskies lost at least 20 games in all four seasons under Patton. Prior to Patton’s arrival, NIU had never endured consecutive 20-loss seasons.

Townsend firmly believes the losing stems from a lack of production from Patton’s first two recruiting classes.

“You have to be able to hit a couple home runs with your first couple recruiting classes if you want to be successful early on,” Townsend said. “But you can’t put all the blame on coach Patton for this season or past seasons. The blame goes on the entire coaching staff.”

NIU will use Collegiate Sports Associates to find the next head men’s basketball coach. Compher expressed confidence that the agency will find a quality head coach.

“I have no doubt that with the support of President [John] Peters, our alumni and the Northern Illinois University community, we will attract a highly-qualified candidate to lead our men’s basketball program,” he said.