Marist has fired head coach Chuck Martin effective immediately.

The Red Foxes dropped their final game Friday, a 70-64 loss to ninth-seeded Siena in the first round of the MAAC Tournament.

Martin had one year remaining on his contract after five at the school. Martin was 41-118 in five seasons, losing 18 games or more in every season in his tenure. He exits with the lowest winning percentage in Marist’s Division I history. His 118 losses are the second most for a Division I head coach at the school, which joined for the 1981-82 season.

Marist never finished higher than eighth place in conference play under Martin.

“I’m very appreciative of the hard work Chuck and his staff demonstrated over the past five years,” Marist Director of Athletics Tim Murray said. “Chuck represented Marist with class, and conducted his program with great passion and integrity. I think that Chuck is a wonderful person, and I have the utmost respect for him.”

The school hired Martin, who spent nine seasons as an assistant at five different schools, signing him to a six-year contract for his first head coaching job at the Division I level. Martin was hired after a two-year stint Memphis under John Calipari where the Tigers went 38-2 and lost the national championship game to Kansas 75-68 in overtime.

Martin inherited a roster that was gutted by Matt Brady, who took the head coaching job at James Madison prior to Martin’s hiring. Marist successfully sued Brady in New York State Supreme Court for tampering with recruits and breaching his contract with the school by interviewing at James Madison without permission.

Meanwhile Martin struggled in his first three seasons as coach, including a 1-29 record in his second season. Marist appeared to be gaining momentum after improving to 14-18 in Martin’s fourth season, winning seven out of their final 10 games. That season freshman Chavaughn Lewis set Marist’s Divison I scoring record with 460 points, earning a spot on the All-MAAC rookie team.

Martin’s tenure includes a victory this season over SEC opponent Vanderbilt in the Old Spice Classic. The 50-33 victory was the lowest points allowed in Marist’s Division I history. The Red Foxes went on a winning streak again, winning five of their final seven regular season games, but it was not enough to save Martin’s job.

Injuries began to derail the season even before it started. Highly touted freshman Khallid Hart was ruled out for the season before the season started with a knee injury. A concussion to junior Jay Bowie cost him 11 games and an ankle injury to senior Devin Price cost him six games throughout the year. The senior Price was the only player to score over 1,000 points in a four-year career under Martin.

Transfers derailed the Red Foxes progress throughout Martin’s tenure. Candon Rusin, who made the 2010 All-MAAC rookie team in his freshman year, transferred to Vermont following the 2010-11 season. In the same season, Menelik Watson transferred after his freshman season to play football at Florida State and Sam Prescott transferred to play his junior season at Mount St. Mary’s. Rob Johnson transferred following his freshman season in 2009-10 to Norfolk State. R.J. Hall was named to the 2009 All-MAAC rookie team, but his playing time diminished in subsequent seasons.

Ryan Restivo covers the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference for Big Apple Buckets. You can follow Ryan on Twitter @ryanarestivo.