It was late spring/early summer in 2016, and Lance Bisson had pulled into the Muldoon Fitness Center parking lot to begin what he will admit was the happiest day of his life.

It was his first day as the official permanent head men’s basketball coach at Rivier University, after a season as the interim. He bled Raider blue, was a 2009 alum, a Nashua kid, North grad, who had his dream job.

Fast forward six-and-a-half years later, and that dream died a painful death. Bisson is no longer the Raiders head coach, and on the surface, it’s not too difficult to understand why, as his won-loss record followed the pattern of the few years leading up to Dave Morissette opting out to enter the private sector for family reasons. Bisson went 25-136 overall, the Raiders taking their lumps in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference, a league that has become a hundred times more talent packed than it was when Bisson celebrated a GNAC title and Division III NCAA tourney berth back in 2007. Currently it features the No. 1 team in the country, St. Joseph’s of Connecticut, formerly coached by a guy named Jim Calhoun.

But why now? Why not wait until the end of the season, with just one month to go, eight games starting with this Saturday’s 1 p.m. contest at the Muldoon vs. Anna Maria. Riv is 2-15, and the 11-game losing streak certainly couldn’t have helped Bisson’s case.

Personnel matters are always a sticky deal, and certainly Rivier can do whatever it pleases. But memo to the higher ups at Raider World: Unless there’s some kind of job violation that occurred – and knowing Bisson that seems unlikely, otherwise he wouldn’t have been at ease talking publicly about his departure – parting ways with your head men’s basketball coach, an alum who is a local guy, well respected in the community and the local basketball world, with eight games to go is simply not a good look.

Not in the least.

Now officially Bisson resigned, and sure, he was likely done at the end of the season, given the tenor of conversations he was having with University officials.

But as he admitted to yours truly on Thursday, “The timetable was not mine.”

And we don’t think the decision was solely that of new athletic director Jonathan Harper. By all accounts, he and Bisson had a good relationship. This was high up on the chain. Sure, Harper wants to establish his programs, his ways, but he didn’t succeed the popular Joanne Merrill with the idea of cleaning house.

Harper stressed the importance of the school enhancing the student athlete experience, which is great. But parting ways with your men’s hoop coach with eight games to go doesn’t fit that description. But orders are orders, and Harper answered the questions as best he could while also giving his due Bisson respect. No AD wants to lose a coach during a season.

Riv needs to figure out what it wants to be. We’ve said it before, if it wants to be competitive in the GNAC – it is in some sports, not so much in others – then fine, go for it. The conference the school helped create 30 years ago is has grown and Riv simply hasn’t kept up.

It renovated the Muldoon years ago, but left out one big part: the gym. Recruits certainly can’t be too enamored with the tiny facility.

The whole thing is just a shame. Bisson endured a lot of losing, but he said it made him stronger and he found wins elsewhere, his team posting a 3.4 GPA and kids graduating and working in the community. “I was finding wins all the time,” he said. He’ll take a step back, he said, evaluate his options, and hopes to stay in college athletics.

“I’m just a kid from French Hill, who got to go to Rivier College, and got the opportunity to be a college basketball coach in the city he was born and raised in,” he said. “How great is that?

“There are sometimes ugly breakups in college athletics, but not here. I’m fortunate in that regard. I was given a great opportunity by Joanne Merrill to do exactly what I wanted in life. I knew what I wanted to do, but I didn’t have a why …”

He has that why now. But why is the question we are still asking with regard to the timing of the Rivier departure of one Lance Bisson.

Tom King may be reached at 594-1251, or@Telegraph_TomK, or tking@nashuatelegraph.com