By Bill Koch
Wes Miller will be introduced Friday as UC’s new head basketball coach, replacing John Brannen, who was fired on April 9. Miller comes to UC after 10 years at UNC-Greensboro, where his teams won 185 games in 10 years and made two NCAA Tournament appearances.
Here’s a look at the last four UC head coaches, what they said on the day they were introduced to the public, why they were hired, how their tenures played out, and how they ended.
BOB HUGGINS (1989-2005)
The 35-year-old Huggins was introduced as UC’s head basketball coach on March 29, 1989 at a press conference at the Faculty Center on UC’s campus. He replaced Tony Yates, who was fired by athletic director Rick Taylor on March 6 after posting a 70-100 record in six years.
“I had not known Huggins at all,” Taylor said. “The AD at Akron, Jim Dennison said, you’ll love this guy. He’s a football coach coaching basketball. We met in a hotel room outside of Akron and we hit it off. He was a great coach.”
Before coming to Cincinnati, Huggins posted a 97-46 record in five years as the head coach at Akron.
“I’d really like to be like UCLA used to be,” Huggins said at his press conference. “I don’t know if that’s quite as feasible as it once was, but that’s the point I’d like to get to.”
Considering that UC hadn’t been to the NCAA Tournament since 1977, such lofty goals seemed like silly talk to some. But Huggins was unfazed.
“I don’t know how you can accomplish great things if you don’t believe great things,” Huggins said. “This is a job where you can go to the Final Four every year. You’re in a great league (the Metro Conference) where you can attract quality players.”
Huggins inherited a program that was about to begin the second year of a two-year NCAA probation that included scholarship limitations. But he believed the program had great potential, which included UC’s new 13,176-seat Shoemaker Center, which was scheduled to open that fall.
“I’ll talk to (the players) soon and lay out the program,” Huggins said. “If they check my history, they’ll see the merits of what we try to do. If they’re willing to fulfill their part, it’ll be a good relationship for all of us.”
HOW IT PLAYED OUT: The Bearcats were successful immediately under Huggins. They went to the National Invitation Tournament during his first two years in 1990 and 1991. In 1992, with an infusion of junior college talent, they made their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 15 years and went all the way to the Final Four, where they lost to Michigan. The following year they advanced to the Elite Eight where they lost in overtime to eventual national champion North Carolina. They returned to the Elite Eight again in 1996 and lost to Mississippi State.
During Huggins’ 16 years at UC, the Bearcats played in 14 straight NCAA Tournaments and were the No. 1-ranked team in the country in 2000 before national Player of the Year Kenyon Martin broke his leg in the first round of the Conference USA tournament. Huggins is the career leader in victories at UC with 399 to go with 127 losses.
HOW IT ENDED: Huggins was charged with DUI on June 8, 2004, and eventually pleaded no contest. He was suspended by UC until August 27 of that year, but coached the Bearcats during the 2004-05 season, their last in C-USA. The following summer he was given an ultimatum by UC president Nancy Zimpher to accept a contract settlement or be fired. He accepted the settlement on August 24, 2005. His last game at UC was a 69-60 loss to Kentucky in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
ANDY KENNEDY (2005-06)
Two days after Huggins’ contract was terminated, UC athletic director Bob Goin named the 37-year-old Kennedy interim head coach for the 2005-06 season. Beyond that, no promises were made regarding the future. Goin had already announced his retirement and was due to be replaced at the end of the year. It would then be up to the new AD to name a permanent successor to Huggins.
Kennedy was in his fourth year as a UC assistant, the last year as associate head coach. When he was announced as interim head coach during a press conference on August 26, 2005 at Fifth Third Arena, he said he had no expectations beyond the 2005-06 season.
“I’m a realist,” he said. “I understand that sounds pretty hollow, but the reality is that I’ve got the job today. I’ve got an opportunity for an open forum to see the good and the bad, to see how I deal with this adverse situation. I’m going to be judged by a lot of different factors, success on and off the floor. I don’t know any other way to play it than to live it in the moment.”
Goin said Kennedy was the logical choice for the job.
“The guy just missed two head coaching jobs (Louisiana-Monroe and Southern Mississippi),” Goin said. “I’m just glad we were fortunate enough to have him on hand to take on this transition.”
Kennedy said he wouldn’t have taken the job without the full support of Huggins, who advised him to take it for the good of the players.
HOW IT PLAYED OUT: The UC players rallied around Kennedy, and the Bearcats posted a 21-13 record in 2005-06. They went 8-8 in UC’s first season as a member of the Big East Conference, but were not selected to play in the NCAA Tournament, ending a string of 14 straight appearances. They accepted a bid to the NIT, where they won their first two games against Charlotte and Minnesota, but lost their quarterfinal game, 65-62, to South Carolina. On the day of the South Carolina game, UC players Jihad Muhammad and James White were declared academically ineligible, further depleting a team that was already shorthanded.
HOW IT ENDED: The UC fan base eagerly campaigned for Kennedy to get the job on a permanent basis, but new AD Mike Thomas had other ideas. After the NIT game against South Carolina, associate AD Mike Waddell, handed out a release to reporters announcing that Mick Cronin would be UC’s new head coach and that he would be introduced to the media the next day.
Kennedy had interviewed with Ole Miss AD Pete Boone in Cincinnati earlier that day and was all but certain as he walked onto the floor for the NIT quarterfinal that he was about to coach his final game as UC’s interim head coach.
After the game, Kennedy told his players in the locker room that he was going to Ole Miss. At the same time, UC officials pulled the plug on Kennedy’s final post-game radio show, further enraging fans.
“I just feel it’s in everybody’s best interest to close the chapter and move forward,” Kennedy said, “because I’m a direct link to Coach Huggins and that’s not going to change. I have never distanced myself from Coach Huggins. I think the true testaments of a man are loyalty and honesty. I’ve tried to do both.”
MICK CRONIN (2006-2019)
When Cronin was introduced at the Kingsgate Marriott Hotel as the permanent successor to Huggins on March 25, 2006, he was realizing a lifelong dream. He was the ultimate homegrown success story - a Cincinnati native who grew up as a UC fan and graduated from UC. His dad also went to UC.
Even though the program he was taking over was a mess with only two scholarship players returning, one of whom was Ron Allen, a transfer from an NAIA school, the chance to be the head coach at his alma mater was too good for Cronin to turn down.
“I want to say to our fans that I am here to win,” Cronin said. “I am here because that has been conveyed to me by Mike Thomas. The commitment to winning and continuing the great tradition we have in men’s basketball from the administration has not changed and will not change. I feel this is the number one program in the country. No other college job in my mind is as good as this job.”
During his interview with Cronin, Thomas said, “he went through recruiting and it was very detailed and he did have a list of people in mind. Certainly he knew the situation. He was well prepared. He was able to answer any topic that we discussed. He had some good ideas on what he wanted to do.”
HOW IT PLAYED OUT: In 13 years as UC’s head coach, Cronin posted a 269-147 record, making him second in UC coaching wins behind Huggins. He rebuilt the program into a perennial NCAA Tournament participant, leading the Bearcats to the tournament in each of his last nine years, reaching the Sweet 16 in 2012.
HOW IT ENDED: Unable to reach an agreement on a contract extension during the 2018-19 season, Cronin accepted the head coaching job at UCLA, where he led the Bruins to the Final Four in 2020-21.
JOHN BRANNEN (2019-2021)
After four years as the head coach at Northern Kentucky, Brannen was introduced as Cronin’s successor on April 16, 2019 at a press conference in the Fifth Third Arena media room. He went 81-51 at NKU with two NCAA Tournament appearances and one appearance in the NIT.
Brannen began his remarks by reciting by reciting the program’s accomplishments down through the years. “Two national titles, six Final Fours, eight Elite Eights, 31 All-Americans, 57 NBA draft picks and counting,” he said. “That’ll humble any coach.”
Brannen promised an aggressive style of play that, he said, “will invigorate the fan base and capture your hearts. It’ll be wrapped around 94 feet both ways. We’ll get after it and we’ll press. We’ll attack offensively in transition.”
UC athletic director Mike Bohn said Brannen was at or near the top of his list of candidates from the start of his search.
“We have watched John and have been fortunate enough to see his work first-hand,” Bohn said, “so obviously John was a clear leader on our list that we wanted to look at. But we scrubbed the entire nation. He emerged (on top) every single time.”
HOW IT PLAYED OUT: UC went 32-21 in two years at UC, leading the Bearcats to a share of the American Athletic Conference championship in his first season when they went 20-10 and were considered a likely NCAA Tournament team before the tournament was cancelled due to Covid-19. UC went 12-11 in 2020-21 and advanced to the AAC Tournament championship game where the Bearcats were soundly beaten by Houston.
HOW IT ENDED: Shortly after the 2020-21 season ended, six UC players entered the NCAA’s transfer portal, with several unnamed players saying in an Athletic story that practices sometimes ran too long and that they didn't feel they could trust Brannen. On March 26, UC launched an investigation of Brannen and his program. He was fired on April 9.
Wes Miller will be introduced Friday as UC’s new head basketball coach, replacing John Brannen, who was fired on April 9. Miller comes to UC after 10 years at UNC-Greensboro, where his teams won 185 games in 10 years and made two NCAA Tournament appearances.
Here’s a look at the last four UC head coaches, what they said on the day they were introduced to the public, why they were hired, how their tenures played out, and how they ended.
BOB HUGGINS (1989-2005)
The 35-year-old Huggins was introduced as UC’s head basketball coach on March 29, 1989 at a press conference at the Faculty Center on UC’s campus. He replaced Tony Yates, who was fired by athletic director Rick Taylor on March 6 after posting a 70-100 record in six years.
“I had not known Huggins at all,” Taylor said. “The AD at Akron, Jim Dennison said, you’ll love this guy. He’s a football coach coaching basketball. We met in a hotel room outside of Akron and we hit it off. He was a great coach.”
Before coming to Cincinnati, Huggins posted a 97-46 record in five years as the head coach at Akron.
“I’d really like to be like UCLA used to be,” Huggins said at his press conference. “I don’t know if that’s quite as feasible as it once was, but that’s the point I’d like to get to.”
Considering that UC hadn’t been to the NCAA Tournament since 1977, such lofty goals seemed like silly talk to some. But Huggins was unfazed.
“I don’t know how you can accomplish great things if you don’t believe great things,” Huggins said. “This is a job where you can go to the Final Four every year. You’re in a great league (the Metro Conference) where you can attract quality players.”
Huggins inherited a program that was about to begin the second year of a two-year NCAA probation that included scholarship limitations. But he believed the program had great potential, which included UC’s new 13,176-seat Shoemaker Center, which was scheduled to open that fall.
“I’ll talk to (the players) soon and lay out the program,” Huggins said. “If they check my history, they’ll see the merits of what we try to do. If they’re willing to fulfill their part, it’ll be a good relationship for all of us.”
HOW IT PLAYED OUT: The Bearcats were successful immediately under Huggins. They went to the National Invitation Tournament during his first two years in 1990 and 1991. In 1992, with an infusion of junior college talent, they made their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 15 years and went all the way to the Final Four, where they lost to Michigan. The following year they advanced to the Elite Eight where they lost in overtime to eventual national champion North Carolina. They returned to the Elite Eight again in 1996 and lost to Mississippi State.
During Huggins’ 16 years at UC, the Bearcats played in 14 straight NCAA Tournaments and were the No. 1-ranked team in the country in 2000 before national Player of the Year Kenyon Martin broke his leg in the first round of the Conference USA tournament. Huggins is the career leader in victories at UC with 399 to go with 127 losses.
HOW IT ENDED: Huggins was charged with DUI on June 8, 2004, and eventually pleaded no contest. He was suspended by UC until August 27 of that year, but coached the Bearcats during the 2004-05 season, their last in C-USA. The following summer he was given an ultimatum by UC president Nancy Zimpher to accept a contract settlement or be fired. He accepted the settlement on August 24, 2005. His last game at UC was a 69-60 loss to Kentucky in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
ANDY KENNEDY (2005-06)
Two days after Huggins’ contract was terminated, UC athletic director Bob Goin named the 37-year-old Kennedy interim head coach for the 2005-06 season. Beyond that, no promises were made regarding the future. Goin had already announced his retirement and was due to be replaced at the end of the year. It would then be up to the new AD to name a permanent successor to Huggins.
Kennedy was in his fourth year as a UC assistant, the last year as associate head coach. When he was announced as interim head coach during a press conference on August 26, 2005 at Fifth Third Arena, he said he had no expectations beyond the 2005-06 season.
“I’m a realist,” he said. “I understand that sounds pretty hollow, but the reality is that I’ve got the job today. I’ve got an opportunity for an open forum to see the good and the bad, to see how I deal with this adverse situation. I’m going to be judged by a lot of different factors, success on and off the floor. I don’t know any other way to play it than to live it in the moment.”
Goin said Kennedy was the logical choice for the job.
“The guy just missed two head coaching jobs (Louisiana-Monroe and Southern Mississippi),” Goin said. “I’m just glad we were fortunate enough to have him on hand to take on this transition.”
Kennedy said he wouldn’t have taken the job without the full support of Huggins, who advised him to take it for the good of the players.
HOW IT PLAYED OUT: The UC players rallied around Kennedy, and the Bearcats posted a 21-13 record in 2005-06. They went 8-8 in UC’s first season as a member of the Big East Conference, but were not selected to play in the NCAA Tournament, ending a string of 14 straight appearances. They accepted a bid to the NIT, where they won their first two games against Charlotte and Minnesota, but lost their quarterfinal game, 65-62, to South Carolina. On the day of the South Carolina game, UC players Jihad Muhammad and James White were declared academically ineligible, further depleting a team that was already shorthanded.
HOW IT ENDED: The UC fan base eagerly campaigned for Kennedy to get the job on a permanent basis, but new AD Mike Thomas had other ideas. After the NIT game against South Carolina, associate AD Mike Waddell, handed out a release to reporters announcing that Mick Cronin would be UC’s new head coach and that he would be introduced to the media the next day.
Kennedy had interviewed with Ole Miss AD Pete Boone in Cincinnati earlier that day and was all but certain as he walked onto the floor for the NIT quarterfinal that he was about to coach his final game as UC’s interim head coach.
After the game, Kennedy told his players in the locker room that he was going to Ole Miss. At the same time, UC officials pulled the plug on Kennedy’s final post-game radio show, further enraging fans.
“I just feel it’s in everybody’s best interest to close the chapter and move forward,” Kennedy said, “because I’m a direct link to Coach Huggins and that’s not going to change. I have never distanced myself from Coach Huggins. I think the true testaments of a man are loyalty and honesty. I’ve tried to do both.”
MICK CRONIN (2006-2019)
When Cronin was introduced at the Kingsgate Marriott Hotel as the permanent successor to Huggins on March 25, 2006, he was realizing a lifelong dream. He was the ultimate homegrown success story - a Cincinnati native who grew up as a UC fan and graduated from UC. His dad also went to UC.
Even though the program he was taking over was a mess with only two scholarship players returning, one of whom was Ron Allen, a transfer from an NAIA school, the chance to be the head coach at his alma mater was too good for Cronin to turn down.
“I want to say to our fans that I am here to win,” Cronin said. “I am here because that has been conveyed to me by Mike Thomas. The commitment to winning and continuing the great tradition we have in men’s basketball from the administration has not changed and will not change. I feel this is the number one program in the country. No other college job in my mind is as good as this job.”
During his interview with Cronin, Thomas said, “he went through recruiting and it was very detailed and he did have a list of people in mind. Certainly he knew the situation. He was well prepared. He was able to answer any topic that we discussed. He had some good ideas on what he wanted to do.”
HOW IT PLAYED OUT: In 13 years as UC’s head coach, Cronin posted a 269-147 record, making him second in UC coaching wins behind Huggins. He rebuilt the program into a perennial NCAA Tournament participant, leading the Bearcats to the tournament in each of his last nine years, reaching the Sweet 16 in 2012.
HOW IT ENDED: Unable to reach an agreement on a contract extension during the 2018-19 season, Cronin accepted the head coaching job at UCLA, where he led the Bruins to the Final Four in 2020-21.
JOHN BRANNEN (2019-2021)
After four years as the head coach at Northern Kentucky, Brannen was introduced as Cronin’s successor on April 16, 2019 at a press conference in the Fifth Third Arena media room. He went 81-51 at NKU with two NCAA Tournament appearances and one appearance in the NIT.
Brannen began his remarks by reciting by reciting the program’s accomplishments down through the years. “Two national titles, six Final Fours, eight Elite Eights, 31 All-Americans, 57 NBA draft picks and counting,” he said. “That’ll humble any coach.”
Brannen promised an aggressive style of play that, he said, “will invigorate the fan base and capture your hearts. It’ll be wrapped around 94 feet both ways. We’ll get after it and we’ll press. We’ll attack offensively in transition.”
UC athletic director Mike Bohn said Brannen was at or near the top of his list of candidates from the start of his search.
“We have watched John and have been fortunate enough to see his work first-hand,” Bohn said, “so obviously John was a clear leader on our list that we wanted to look at. But we scrubbed the entire nation. He emerged (on top) every single time.”
HOW IT PLAYED OUT: UC went 32-21 in two years at UC, leading the Bearcats to a share of the American Athletic Conference championship in his first season when they went 20-10 and were considered a likely NCAA Tournament team before the tournament was cancelled due to Covid-19. UC went 12-11 in 2020-21 and advanced to the AAC Tournament championship game where the Bearcats were soundly beaten by Houston.
HOW IT ENDED: Shortly after the 2020-21 season ended, six UC players entered the NCAA’s transfer portal, with several unnamed players saying in an Athletic story that practices sometimes ran too long and that they didn't feel they could trust Brannen. On March 26, UC launched an investigation of Brannen and his program. He was fired on April 9.
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