The University of Portland won’t be making a change with struggling men’s basketball coach Terry Porter.

“Terry Porter is our men’s basketball head coach," athletic director Scott Leykam said on Tuesday in a statement first released to The Oregonian/OregonLive. "We will continue to work with Terry and his staff to support them in every way possible.”

Porter has one year remaining on contract. He is 37-92 in four seasons and has a record of 1-31 in his last 32 West Coast Conference games.

I wrote a column a few weeks ago about the struggles of Porter. I expected that the parties would meet after the season and come to a mutual agreement about the direction of the program. Porter was a winner as a player, but hasn’t found success as a college coach. I figured he’d want out himself.

Then came COVID-19.

The meeting between Leykam and Porter was postponed several times. And with so much uncertain, I think UP simply decided that it wasn’t the right time to make a change. The Pilots punted.

It’s tricky enough to transition to a new regime, but when you’re doing it amid social distancing, and NCAA recruiting regulations that won’t allow on-campus visits it amounts to a high-wire act. So Porter will return in a 10-team conference where he’s finished 10th, 9th, 10th and 10th.

I can’t say I blame either side, although I called for a humane end to Porter’s tenure in a column.

Porter wants to finish his contract out, apparently. And UP isn’t willing in these turbulent times to make a wholesale change. So they’re giving him a shot to salvage this.

I think there are probably some disappointed candidates out there. I had a short list of people I thought UP should talk with that included former UNLV coach Dave Rice, former UCSB coach Bob Williams, Pacific coach Damon Stoudamire, Division-II’s Chico State coach Greg Clink and Portland State’s Barret Peery, among others.

But that will apparently have to wait.

I wish Porter the best. Hope he pulls this out. But also, I wonder how much losing a guy known as a winner can take.