Tuesday evening, The Warrior learned that Marquette head basketball coach Tom Crean has signed a contract to be the new head coach at Indiana. A news conference has been scheduled for 10 a.m. today. Crean’s name came up last year in connection with the University of Kentucky job so this is not anything new to the Marquette community. Crean, who just two years ago signed a contract extension through the 2016-2017 season with Marquette, is one of the highest paid coaches in the nation. While the terms of the contract are not public regarding his future pay, Crean made $1.6 million in 2005 and $1.5 million in 2006. It would be a good bet that Crean’s salary was going to go higher than that this year, especially after Marquette signed a huge contract with Converse. However, for some coaches it is not all about the money; it is about the program.
Indiana has been looking for a new head coach ever since Kelvin Sampson resigned (many believe he would have been fired anyway) mid-way through this season amid recruiting allegations. Sampson agreed to a $750,000 buyout in February. In the buyout, most of which was paid for by a unanimous Indiana booster, Sampson agreed to not sue the University of Indiana for wrongful termination. The controversy around Sampson mostly focused on illegal recruiting phone calls. These allegations plagued the program and Sampson the entire season. Working against Sampson was the fact that he faced similar allegations and convictions when he was the head coach at Oklahoma.
Tom Crean has a record of 190-96 in nine seasons at Marquette. He led a memorable run to the Final Four back in 2003 and Marquette to the NCAA tournament five times. He has a 5-5 record in NCAA tournament games. Crean has always said that he and his family were committed to Marquette and the Milwaukee community and that has always shown through events such as Al’s Run and Walk. However, many college coaches will take a better opportunity when available and most consider the Indiana head coaching job one of the best in the country. Indiana has won five national championships in its historic career. So when this position opens, it is hard for people to pass it up. One coach that did repeatedly pass it up was Washington State head Coach Tony Bennett. Bennett is a Green Bay native and son of former Wisconsin head coach Dick Bennett.
Crean’s name had come up in previous head coaching vacancies, namely the University of Kentucky job that was filled by Billie Gillispie. If Tom Izzo were to ever leave Michigan State, Crean’s name will probably be first or second on the list to replace him because of Crean’s close connections to the program. It is very rare for college basketball coaches to stay in one place for their entire head coaching careers, and it appears that Crean will be no exception. Roy Williams left Kansas to coach at North Carolina. Bob Huggins left Kansas State after one year and what many consider the best incoming class to return home to West Virginia. The goal of most head coaches is to have a long tenure at one of the top programs in the nation, assuming they do not go to the NBA. While Marquette is one of the best around, it does not compare to Duke, North Carolina, University of California-Los Angeles, Kentucky or Indiana. So while many Marquette fans will be disappointed to see Crean leave, it will be difficult for them to blame him. I say, let’s go get Bobby Knight!
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