KEARNEY, Neb. — A coach who has spent nearly three decades at the University of Nebraska-Kearney is resigning from his post.

UNK announced Friday afternoon that head men’s basketball coach Kevin Lofton has resigned effective immediately. Assistant coach Antoine Young will lead the Lopers for the remainder of the season as interim head coach.

“We are grateful for Coach Lofton’s dedication and contributions to the Loper basketball program,” UNK Director of Athletics Marc Bauer said in a statement. “We wish him the best in his future endeavors and thank him for his service to UNK Athletics. We are excited about the future growth and direction of the team.”

Lofton started working at UNK as a graduate assistant coach in 1995. He worked his way up and became co-head coach, sharing duties with Tom Kropp, in 2005. He became the sole head coach in 2015.

The Arizona native compiled a 156-125 in 10 seasons as co-head coach. His teams have gone 107-122 since then. The Lopers haven’t posted a winning record since going 16-13 in the 2019-20 season and sank to a low-point last season with a 5-23 record. Lofton remade the roster with a highly-touted recruiting class full of freshmen and transfers ahead of this season. UNK lost its season opener 83-81 at Southern Nazarene.

Young started his coaching career at Concordia University in Seward and spent two years as a graduate assistant at Pittsburg State University before joining the UNK staff in summer 2018. He was a two-time All-Missouri Valley Conference selection while playing for Creighton University and helped the Bluejays reach the 2012 NCAA Tournament. He was a three-time all-state pick at Bellevue West High School.