Hartford men's basketball coach John Gallagher resigned from his post Monday. Gallagher, who was set to enter his 13th season with the program and who coached Hartford to its one and only NCAA Tournament appearance in 2021, told CBS Sports he did this because he believed his players would be better off. 

"At the end of the day, it's better for the student-athlete experience if I stepped away," Gallagher said. "They will be treated much better now than if I was there. That was the deciding factor. That's the truth."

Gallagher said he informed his team at 2 p.m. on Monday that he was leaving. His highest-ranking assistant is Tom Devitt, who has spent the past decade at the program. Hartford, which is transitioning out of Division I, is yet to name an interim coach.  

In a resignation letter to Hartford president Greg Woodward, Gallagher alleges multiple breaches of contract. 

"As I have communicated on multiple occasions, both directly and through my counsel, the University of Hartford has not only breached the material terms of my contract but has consistently and repeatedly undermined the men's basketball program to the point where player safety and well-being has been jeopardized," Gallagher wrote. 

Additionally Gallagher wrote — and the university later acknowledged — that the school did not assign a trainer to travel with the team for its recent scrimmage against Dartmouth College. In that scrimmage, an undisclosed Hartford player suffered injury.