By Bill Koch
Friday’s announcement that UC had relieved John Brannen of his duties as head coach was the first step toward restoring order to a basketball program that likely faces at least a few years of painful recovery.
As UC fans understandably fret over what will happen to the program, perhaps they’ll find comfort in the knowledge that it has been awash in turmoil before and emerged from it to continue the historical success that has made UC the 12th-ranked program in NCAA history in terms of victories.
In 1988, the men’s basketball and football programs were both in disarray when they were placed on NCAA probation. That led to the firing of football coach Dave Currey, basketball coach Tony Yates, and athletic director Carl Meyer, all in one busy year for this beat writer, who had been covering UC for only two years when it all went down.
The NCAA announced on Nov. 3, 1988 that both the football program and men’s basketball program were ineligible for postseason competition (which wasn’t a problem in those days). The school also received scholarship limitations through 1991 in basketball and 1992 for football as the result of violations committed between late 1985 and 1986.
The Bearcats were placed on three years probation after the NCAA found violations in 11 areas, including providing financial aid to academically ineligible players and giving course credit to football players for conditioning classes open only to them.
And yet, AD Meyer said he was “pleased that they did take into consideration our spirit of cooperation and our commitment we have to compliance.”
It surely didn’t seem that way at the time, but in the end the NCAA penalties might have been a good thing for UC because they led to the hiring of football coach Tim Murphy, who set the football team on the path that turned it into a respectable program and now a legitimate Top 10 program; basketball coach Bob Huggins, who led the Bearcats to the Final Four in three years; and athletic director Rick Taylor, who modernized the athletic department and upgraded the facilities.
On Nov. 5, 1998, almost 10 years to the day after the Bearcats last were penalized, the NCAA struck again, finding that the basketball program under Huggins displayed a lack of institutional control. The Bearcats avoided the most damaging penalty – loss of postseason play – which was an issue this time, but lost three scholarships over a two-year period and had limits placed on recruiting.
The investigation began under athletic director Gerald O’Dell - who did not get along with Huggins – and started with accusations that point guard Charles Williams received improper academic assistance. Williams was eventually suspended, as was forward Ruben Patterson for accepting improper assistance from a booster, and assistant coach John Loyer, who was accused of arranging the improper academic assistance for Williams. Loyer was placed on paid leave, but was later cleared by the NCAA to coach at UC again. That never happened.
Loyer is now Director of Pro Scouting for the NBA Los Angeles Clippers. Huggins was not implicated in any of the violations.
In the end, the damage to the program was minimal. The Bearcats finished 26-8 that year and won the Conference USA championship. They beat Butler in the first round of the NCAA Tournament before losing to Iowa State.
Something positive emerged from this mess, too. By the time the NCAA announced UC’s penalties, O’Dell had been replaced by Bob Goin, whose tenure included the construction of Varsity Village, the Bearcats’ move to the Big East Conference, and the hiring of football coach Mark Dantonio.
And then there was Huggins’ DUI in 2004, which sent the basketball program into a spiral from which it took years to recover.
When I heard last week that UC had issued a press release announcing the suspension of Brannen, on a Saturday afternoon on Easter weekend, with no comment from anyone in the athletic department, I was struck by how much things had changed since 2004.
Huggins' suspension on June 13 of that year was announced at a press conference with Huggins in attendance. Huggins read a statement and Goin took questions from reporters.
“This will permit him the opportunity to reflect, re-energize, and upgrade his life priorities,” Goin said of Huggins. “It will also let him address any personal matters which he has ignored. If he will accept this in the good faith in which it is intended and with the support of his family and all who love him, it is my desire that Bobby will return fresh and better conditioned to resume the demands of a job which he loves so dearly.”
Huggins said he would “do everything in my power to meet whatever conditions I’m asked to do by my superiors.”
The most telling comment of the day was from Goin: “I think he can come back and if the right things fall into place, I think he can come back and be the head coach for 10 or 15 years if that’s what he wants to do.”
Two days after Huggins was suspended indefinitely, associate head coach Dan Peters was named interim head coach until Huggins’ suspension was lifted. But on July 19 Peters left to become the associate head coach at Ohio State under Thad Matta. This time Goin named Oscar Robertson as the Bearcats’ interim head coach until Huggins’ return, which had been set for Aug. 27.
Huggins led the Bearcats to their 14th straight NCAA Tournament appearance in 2005. They beat Iowa in the first round, before losing to Kentucky in the second. But Goin’s prediction that Huggins could be the head coach at UC for the next 10 to 15 years was wrong. The Kentucky game was Huggins’ last as UC’s head coach. He was fired on Aug. 24, 2005 and replaced by interim head coach Andy Kennedy.
After one year under Kennedy, during which the Bearcats played in the National Invitation Tournament, UC AD Mike Thomas hired Mick Cronin to run the program. Forced to rebuild the program almost from scratch, it took Cronin five difficult years to get the Bearcats back in the NCAA Tournament. By the time he left for UCLA after the 2018-19 season, they had gone to nine straight NCAAs.
Enter John Brannen, who won a share of the American Athletic Conference championship in his first year, only to see a mass exodus of players in his second. Now Brannen is gone and the program is in turmoil again. How long will it take to recover this time?
That depends on whom AD John Cunningham hires as head coach, and how quickly he does it. But the Bearcats will recover. They’ve had lots of practice in these matters.
Friday’s announcement that UC had relieved John Brannen of his duties as head coach was the first step toward restoring order to a basketball program that likely faces at least a few years of painful recovery.
As UC fans understandably fret over what will happen to the program, perhaps they’ll find comfort in the knowledge that it has been awash in turmoil before and emerged from it to continue the historical success that has made UC the 12th-ranked program in NCAA history in terms of victories.
In 1988, the men’s basketball and football programs were both in disarray when they were placed on NCAA probation. That led to the firing of football coach Dave Currey, basketball coach Tony Yates, and athletic director Carl Meyer, all in one busy year for this beat writer, who had been covering UC for only two years when it all went down.
The NCAA announced on Nov. 3, 1988 that both the football program and men’s basketball program were ineligible for postseason competition (which wasn’t a problem in those days). The school also received scholarship limitations through 1991 in basketball and 1992 for football as the result of violations committed between late 1985 and 1986.
The Bearcats were placed on three years probation after the NCAA found violations in 11 areas, including providing financial aid to academically ineligible players and giving course credit to football players for conditioning classes open only to them.
And yet, AD Meyer said he was “pleased that they did take into consideration our spirit of cooperation and our commitment we have to compliance.”
It surely didn’t seem that way at the time, but in the end the NCAA penalties might have been a good thing for UC because they led to the hiring of football coach Tim Murphy, who set the football team on the path that turned it into a respectable program and now a legitimate Top 10 program; basketball coach Bob Huggins, who led the Bearcats to the Final Four in three years; and athletic director Rick Taylor, who modernized the athletic department and upgraded the facilities.
On Nov. 5, 1998, almost 10 years to the day after the Bearcats last were penalized, the NCAA struck again, finding that the basketball program under Huggins displayed a lack of institutional control. The Bearcats avoided the most damaging penalty – loss of postseason play – which was an issue this time, but lost three scholarships over a two-year period and had limits placed on recruiting.
The investigation began under athletic director Gerald O’Dell - who did not get along with Huggins – and started with accusations that point guard Charles Williams received improper academic assistance. Williams was eventually suspended, as was forward Ruben Patterson for accepting improper assistance from a booster, and assistant coach John Loyer, who was accused of arranging the improper academic assistance for Williams. Loyer was placed on paid leave, but was later cleared by the NCAA to coach at UC again. That never happened.
Loyer is now Director of Pro Scouting for the NBA Los Angeles Clippers. Huggins was not implicated in any of the violations.
In the end, the damage to the program was minimal. The Bearcats finished 26-8 that year and won the Conference USA championship. They beat Butler in the first round of the NCAA Tournament before losing to Iowa State.
Something positive emerged from this mess, too. By the time the NCAA announced UC’s penalties, O’Dell had been replaced by Bob Goin, whose tenure included the construction of Varsity Village, the Bearcats’ move to the Big East Conference, and the hiring of football coach Mark Dantonio.
And then there was Huggins’ DUI in 2004, which sent the basketball program into a spiral from which it took years to recover.
When I heard last week that UC had issued a press release announcing the suspension of Brannen, on a Saturday afternoon on Easter weekend, with no comment from anyone in the athletic department, I was struck by how much things had changed since 2004.
Huggins' suspension on June 13 of that year was announced at a press conference with Huggins in attendance. Huggins read a statement and Goin took questions from reporters.
“This will permit him the opportunity to reflect, re-energize, and upgrade his life priorities,” Goin said of Huggins. “It will also let him address any personal matters which he has ignored. If he will accept this in the good faith in which it is intended and with the support of his family and all who love him, it is my desire that Bobby will return fresh and better conditioned to resume the demands of a job which he loves so dearly.”
Huggins said he would “do everything in my power to meet whatever conditions I’m asked to do by my superiors.”
The most telling comment of the day was from Goin: “I think he can come back and if the right things fall into place, I think he can come back and be the head coach for 10 or 15 years if that’s what he wants to do.”
Two days after Huggins was suspended indefinitely, associate head coach Dan Peters was named interim head coach until Huggins’ suspension was lifted. But on July 19 Peters left to become the associate head coach at Ohio State under Thad Matta. This time Goin named Oscar Robertson as the Bearcats’ interim head coach until Huggins’ return, which had been set for Aug. 27.
Huggins led the Bearcats to their 14th straight NCAA Tournament appearance in 2005. They beat Iowa in the first round, before losing to Kentucky in the second. But Goin’s prediction that Huggins could be the head coach at UC for the next 10 to 15 years was wrong. The Kentucky game was Huggins’ last as UC’s head coach. He was fired on Aug. 24, 2005 and replaced by interim head coach Andy Kennedy.
After one year under Kennedy, during which the Bearcats played in the National Invitation Tournament, UC AD Mike Thomas hired Mick Cronin to run the program. Forced to rebuild the program almost from scratch, it took Cronin five difficult years to get the Bearcats back in the NCAA Tournament. By the time he left for UCLA after the 2018-19 season, they had gone to nine straight NCAAs.
Enter John Brannen, who won a share of the American Athletic Conference championship in his first year, only to see a mass exodus of players in his second. Now Brannen is gone and the program is in turmoil again. How long will it take to recover this time?
That depends on whom AD John Cunningham hires as head coach, and how quickly he does it. But the Bearcats will recover. They’ve had lots of practice in these matters.
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