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ELON (MCT) — Ernie Nestor paraphrased Charles Dickens on Monday night when he said that March is the best of times and the worst of times in college basketball.

Hours earlier, the professorial veteran coach learned he was out of a job at Elon University after six seasons in charge of the men's basketball team.

It's a verdict that ends a tenure highlighted by notable peaks but undone by valleys in the loss column.

"I'm disappointed," Nestor said. "We didn't win enough games for the people who make the decisions. I think that's a very minimal way to evaluate a program, particularly when you're in a conference as strong as the Southern Conference."

Elon's season finished in heartbreaking fashion Saturday night as eventual champion Chattanooga edged the Phoenix 79-78 in the Southern Conference Tournament quarterfinals.

When asked afterward if he would return next season, Nestor said his job status had yet to become a topic of conversation with his superiors and that he planned on moving forward at Elon until told otherwise.

Then came Monday's meeting with athletics director Dave Blank.

"It's about results and progress of the program. And it's over a period of time," Blank said. "I'll never say a bad thing about Ernie Nestor. He's a great coach and a great person. But sometimes it's time for a new direction.

"This didn't just start yesterday. There's been some discussions. It's just the right time to do it. And I think if a decision is imminent, then we need to do it as quickly as we can. I think for all parties involved, the sooner the better on something like this." A year ago today, Elon made its national television debut after a spellbinding run to the championship game of the league tournament. That ended in a defeat administered by Davidson.

Ultimately, Nestor's Elon teams lost 117 of their 184 games. The Phoenix transitioned into the Southern Conference during Nestor's first season and has gone on to win a fraction more than 41 percent of its regular season games in the league.

Junior forward Adam Constantine called Nestor, a former Southern Conference Coach of the Year, as "the most knowledge basketball man that I know and ever will know."

Nestor and Blank separately addressed the team at a meeting early Monday night. Nestor spoke first and then exited, leaving the floor to Blank.

"I wasn't standing up and cheering, that's for sure," senior guard Brett James said. "It wasn't an easy experience for any of us. It was tough on everybody. It's sad to see anybody leave not on their own terms."

Nestor, a longtime assistant coach on the major college level, came to Elon after stints under Dave Odom at Wake Forest (1993-2001) and South Carolina (2001-03). Nestor was the head coach at George Mason rom 1988-93.

In 2005-06, Nestor directed Elon's only winning season since moved up to Division I in 1999.

That season delivered a North Division title in the Southern Conference, Nestor's league Coach of the Year award and a landmark victory at Clemson — Elon's first in the modern era against Atlantic Coast Conference competition.

Blank said an athletics department administrator will be in contact with recruit Brett Ervin, a West Virginia high school senior who signed a national letter of intent with Elon in the fall.