LOS ANGELES -- UCLA basketball coach Ben Howland has been relieved of his duties after 10 seasons at the helm of the Bruins, athletic director Dan Guerrero said Sunday.

Guerrero, after talking it over with university chancellor Gene Block, said he met with Howland on Sunday afternoon at UCLA and delivered the news.

"As I looked at the entire program and where we were -- especially headed into the next year which is obviously where we need to look at this point in time, I felt that now was the appropriate time to make the decision to make a change and to get a fresh start," Guerrero said.

A statement sent by the school said Guerrero informed Howland of the decision on Sunday afternoon.

"I want to thank Ben for all that he has done for UCLA in his ten seasons in Westwood," Guerrero said in the statement. "He embraced our tradition and culture and produced some terrific teams and coached a number of wonderful young men. We wish Ben and his family all the best as they move onto a new chapter in their lives."

Howland completed his 10th season with the Bruins on Friday night when UCLA lost to Minnesota, 83-63, in the NCAA tournament's round of 64. UCLA finished the season 25-10 and won the Pac-12 Conference regular-season title. But the blowout loss and early exit from the NCAA tournament were the latest in a line of embarrassing moments over the past few seasons that led to the end of the Howland era.

"As we went into this season, there were aspirations to compete for a conference championship and to make a run in the tournament," Guerrero said. "Certainly we were successful in the former and not as successful in the latter part."

Howland finishes at UCLA with a career record of 233-107. He won four conference titles in the past eight years and took the Bruins to the Final Four in three consecutive seasons from 2006-08, but he has had a string of disappointing seasons since. UCLA missed the NCAA tournament twice in the three seasons before this year, had a losing record in 2009-10 and has won only two NCAA tournament games since 2008.