Ohio State will not renew the contract of John Markell, the coach of the men’s hockey team. Athletic Director, Gene Smith, made the announcement Tuesday that the university will part ways with Markell after 15 seasons.

The decision was announced to the team Tuesday morning, to the surprise of some of the players.

“We weren’t exactly sure what was going on. You throw that idea around but we were a little bit surprised,” Sergio Somma said. “We’ve got to turn over a new leaf and start fresh with a new coach next year.”

The search is to begin immediately for OSU’s next coach. Chris Schneider, associate athletics director for sports administration, said the search for the next coach will be nationwide.

“We’ll post the position by the end of the week,” Schneider said. “We’ll leave it open through the end of the Frozen Four. At that point, we will evaluate the pool of candidates that we have and begin the interview committee process. We hope to have somebody in place by early May.”

Schneider added that the decision to not renew Markell’s contract came from a lack of consistent success throughout his tenure at Ohio State.

“What we’re looking for in our men’s ice hockey program is a coach that is consistently successful, consistently competing for collegiate championships and ultimately performing in the NCAA tournament,” Schneider said. “Coach Markell has done very good things with our student-athletes. And he’s done some good things with our program in the past. [The decision] goes back to being consistently successful.”

Somma indicated that Schneider’s expectations for the program are not unrealistic.

“The facilities and the opportunities here at this school are bar none, and there’s no reason we shouldn’t compete every year. I still think we have the personnel and the talent to have a great team next year.”

Markell finishes his career with a record of 280-267-56 and led the program to its first Frozen Four appearance in 1998.

“I appreciate the opportunity I had to coach at Ohio State,” Markell said. “I’m proud of the young men I had a chance to coach and watch grow up both as hockey players and in life. I’m proud of the accomplishments we had as a team over the years. I wish nothing but the best for the Buckeye hockey program and the people around it.”