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 Ohio Bobcats' head basketball coach Tim O'Shea is stepping down from the position he has held for the past seven seasons in Athens to accept a similar post at Bryant University which will play in the Northeast Conference next season as a provisional Division I member.
O'Shea guided the Bobcats to a Mid-American Conference tournament title and automatic NCAA berth in 2005 while compiling a 120-95 record over his seven seasons at Ohio however the Bobcats have struggled to meet expectations in subsequent years and his inability to sustain the momentum generated from the Bobcats' 2005 NCAA tournament appearance has been the persistent subject of speculation regarding his future despite the fact that the Bobcats have averaged twenty wins or more from 2006-2008.
Ohio made a two-game appearance this past season in the inaugural CBI tournament, defeating Brown in the opening round and losing at Bradley in the second round. The Bobcats finished with a 20-13 mark in 2007-2008.
O'Shea currently has two years remaining on his contract but new Ohio athletic director Jim Schaus has not offered either a contract extension or a new deal.
Bryant University is making the move next season from Division II to Division I status and is located near Providence, RI, home of the University of Rhode Island where O'Shea was an assistant for nine years. It has long been known that O'Shea was desirous of a move back to the Northeast, and specifically Rhode Island, where he maintains a residence.
The opening at Bryant University became available after Max Good left as the head coach of the Bulldogs on June 5, taking an assistant's post at Loyola Marymount.
During Good's seven-year tenure at Bryant, the Bulldogs posted a 132-86 record which included five consecutive appearances in the NCAA Division II Tournament and a trip to the championship game in 2005.
The Bulldogs were 18-13 in their final year in Division II and will begin play as provisional member of the Northeast Conference commencing with the 2008-2009 season and then will play a full conference slate starting with the 2009-2010 season, completing their transition to Division I.
Bryant is expected to formally introduce O'Shea as its new head coach at a press conference on Monday, June 23.
While financial terms of O'Shea's new deal at Bryant have not been revealed, several reports indicate that it will be an eight-year deal. O'Shea was making approximately $200,000 annually as the Bobcats head coach.
Several names have already surfaced as possible candidates for the Ohio vacancy, including that of current Ohio assistant John Rhodes who also played for Ohio from 1985-1988 and has been the Bobcats' primary recruiter under O'Shea. |
