The University of Alabama Athletic Department surprised me Sunday afternoon.

I was not expecting the administration to let men’s basketball coach Anthony Grant go after the team’s second disappointing year in a row. Reports from various media outlets in the State of Alabama indicated he would be retained for a seventh season in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

There was much backlash from Crimson Tide hoops fans at this time a year ago when it was confirmed Grant would be coming back after a 13-19 (7-11) season with no postseason berth. After taking over prior to the 2009-10 season, Grant went 63-39 in his first three years, including leading the team to the NIT finals in 2011 and making the NCAA Tournament the following year. But the Tide was bounced in its opening game of the tournament and never made it back in Grant’s final three seasons.

After six seasons, Grant was never able to build a team that consistently won meaningful games and played in meaningful postseason games. Players began to transfer, and Auburn decided to hire Bruce Pearl last offseason, injecting excitement into a floundering Tiger program.

Meanwhile, Alabama basketball fans had mostly lost faith in Grant, whose results weren’t satisfactory. To make matters worse, Grant did nothing in his time at Alabama to promote the program, an unspoken requirement when you coach basketball in a football state.

So, the decision to let him go was probably the right one. By all accounts, Grant is a classy person who ran a tight ship, kept his team’s grade-point average up and did nothing to embarrass the school off the court. It’s unfortunate when genuinely good people are let go, but as Alabama Athletic Director Bill Battle said in his statement on Grant’s firing, ultimately, you’re judged by wins and losses.

So why was the decision surprising to me, then? Other than the aforementioned reports that he would be retained, I’ve never gotten the sense basketball was a priority with the administration at Alabama. That’s not to say they’re apathetic toward the sport, but let’s be honest — if it were football, Grant would never have made it past year five. Mike Shula, Nick Saban’s predecessor, didn’t even make it past year four. As soon as there were signs Shula wasn’t going to win big, the school parted ways with him.

Firing Grant alone isn’t enough. The school is going to have to show fans it’s serious about building a winner. Should they demand Kentucky-like results? No, Alabama isn’t Kentucky in basketball, not by any stretch. But for a school with an Elite 8 appearance, eight Sweet 16 berths, 20 NCAA Tournament invitations, to go along with six conference tournament titles and seven conference regular-season titles, what it’s been getting of late should not be tolerated, either.

So what should Alabama do? Commit financially to the sport. Last year’s total athletic revenue at the school is reported to be $143 million. Alabama, along with every other SEC school, is set to see even more revenue with the introduction of the SEC Network last fall.

The money is there, so use it to make the program as good as it can be. Let’s say — and I am being purely speculative here — the No. 1 coach on Alabama’s list asks for double whatever salary he’s currently making. If this coach has a body of work that actually justifies doubling his salary to get him, do it. If he then says he wants a commitment to build a new arena within the next decade, do it. Give him whatever resources he needs as far as staff and recruiting goes. Make it obvious that you’re serious about the team being good over the long haul.

There’s a fine difference between making a good investment and simply filling a position. At a school with the resources of Alabama, there is no excuse for one of its two revenue sports being mired in mediocrity.

Show fans you care beyond simply hiring a coach. Give them a reason to be excited about the program. Don’t just fill a position — make an investment.

Drew Kerekes is the sports editor at The Meridian Star. He can be reached at dkerekes@themeridianstar.com.