Winds of Change in Cincinnati: Cincinnati president Nancy Zimpher started to put her personal touch on the school’s athletic department by hiring Mike Thomas as athletic director. Thomas comes to the Bearcats from Akron, where he spent the past five years earning a reputation as an academics-first administrator. That’s just the kind of person Zimpher wants to succeed Bob Goin, who will retire later this year after spending eight years as the Bearcats’ AD. He has been most closely associated with the tenure of former coach Bob Huggins, whom Zimpher forced out after tiring of the discipline and academic problems surrounding his program.
Huggins accepted a $3 million buyout in August after Zimpher issued an ultimatum – resign or be fired. Under Huggins, the Bearcats made 14 consecutive NCAA Tournaments, including one Final Four appearance. But the school had nearly as many high-profile discipline problems, including a DUI arrest by Huggins last year. The lack of a permanent coach – assistant Andy Kennedy will be the interim coach this season – has inhibited the Bearcats’ recruiting, which could not come at a worse time as the team moves into the basketball uber-conference known as the Big East. [10/20/05]
