The University of Oregon officially parted ways with head women's volleyball coach Jim Moore after 12 seasons in statement released Wednesday. The Ducks also announced that Moore's assistant coach and wife, Stacy Metro, will no longer be coaching volleyball but will remain an employee at OU.

The statement reads: 

"Jim Moore is stepping down from his position as head women's volleyball coach effective immediately and will be retiring from the UO as of May 15, 2017. Coach Moore and the UO have come to realize that his coaching style is mismatched with the standards of the University of Oregon athletic department. He has acknowledged that his coaching style may have been viewed negatively by some student-athletes, and, for that, he is sorry.

During the next few months, Moore will work remotely on a transition plan to ensure the success of the program going forward. Associate head coach Matt Ulmer has been named interim head coach. Coach Ulmer is an outstanding coach and mentor for our student-athletes. He has a great connection to our current student-athletes and is well regarded in the volleyball community."

Earlier this week, the Oregon student newspaper, The Daily Emerald, and Oregon Live reported that Moore and Metro were being fired "for cause."

After the initial news of Moore's departure from the program came out, a group of former players wrote a letter to university president Michael Schill defending Moore. Those athletes included Kristen (Forristall) Rott, Liz Brenner, Sonja Newcombe, and Martenne Bettendorf.

"(Moore's) student-athletes learned discipline, accountability, leadership, respect, self-worth, confidence, and courage," the former OU players wrote. "His character, his integrity, his work ethic, nor his intentions toward the University of Oregon have been called into question until now."

The Oregon beach volleyball team, for which Metro served as head coach, had a trip to Australia scheduled later this month, but the athletic department told The Daily Emerald that trip has been canceled.

Moore, the all-time winningest coach in Oregon women's volleyball history, compiled a 186-98 record with the Ducks and guided Oregon to six straight NCAA tournament berths. The Ducks earned an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament this past season and finished with a 21-10 overall mark after falling to Michigan in the second round.