Let me start by saying that I have felt very bitter in regards to how the soon to be former UC president Nancy Zimpher handled the Bob Huggins ousting. There is no doubt that Zimpher brought great changes to my Alma Mater and I have a great respect for what she was trying to and did accomplish as the President of the University of Cincinnati.
Unfortunately, my impressions of Zimpher were severely skewed with the force out of Huggins from his contract with UC. Backing up just a little bit, I want to revisit the DUI incident that was the beginning of the end. When that news broke and the video released, I was very disappointed in our coach. I assumed at that moment that he would be relieved of his position because this is not what anyone wants to see from the head basketball coach. It would have been better to let him go then as opposed to what they put the program through for the next several years.
Because of that incident, I believe that Zimpher and the University had decided that they would allow Huggins’ contract to expire as a way of getting rid of him without having to fire him and pay him for what they owed him on his contract. Unfortunately the decision to not renew his contract completely torpedoed recruiting. Huggins could no longer guarantee that he would be around 4 years from now, so athletes were picking other schools with coaches in a more stable position. When the power struggle finally forced Huggins out, UC played under the direction of Andy Kennedy with a very shorthanded team because of recruiting struggles. By the end of that season our active roster was only 9 players. They played a lot of minutes and with a lot of heart. It was an exciting team to watch because despite all of the problems that they faced, they were competitive and managed to get an NIT bid.
Not making the NCAA tournament was a big disappointment when you have been there every year for over a decade, but it was a big accomplishment for that team. UC had a couple of home games for the NIT before making the trip to NYC for the rest of the tournament. Coincidentally the final NIT game that UC would play at home became another controversy when UC suspended 2 senior basketball players for academic ineligibility. They waited until game time to make the announcement so the tickets to the game were sold and UC was all but guaranteed to lose this game with only 7 players. UC got their money for that home game and officially buried the program hoping that all of the controversy would go with it.
The next day they hired Mick Cronin as the new head coach. I like Mick Cronin, but this was a very confusing pick to me. The University wanted to hire a coach who would help to clean up the program. They didn’t want thugs to play for our school anymore. So they went and hired one of Huggins’ best recruiters ever. They said they didn’t want Jr. College transfers anymore. But in order to rebuild the basketball program that they effectively flushed down the toilet, Cronin recruited JUCOS.
I definitely believe that there was something more personal going on there that we don’t know about. I still get all worked up about it when I think of how everything went down. I went from a rabid fan who schedule life around the basketball schedule to a fair weather fan. It makes me sick. I have followed them, but I have not supported financially beyond my current financial obligations to the University. I do not own 1 single piece of UC apparel with the new logo on it. I couldn’t identify all of the players on the team if I tried right now.
But I feel that it is no coincidence that UC basketball has been on the rise lately. Zimpher has been a virus to the program now that she is on her way out, the numbness is starting to wear off. I am beginning to make efforts to follow each game again, only it sucks that we never seem to be on TV anymore.
I am calling on all of the Huggins Bearcat faithful to take heart as we move out of this dark period of UC basketball. I hope UC sells out every game after Zimpher is gone. There is nothing that can be done to go back and fix it all. I must forgive her because she is a sinner just like me. But forgetfullness will be much harder for me. I wish her well, but I feel sorry for SUNY if they have a basketball program.
Don't forget — nancy may have done some good – but she has also taken credit for a lot of projects that she was NOT the initiator of — namely UC21 (started before she was there) and the whole “Main Street” thing and a lot of the new buildings — all that stuff was in the works and i would guess a LOT of it under contract before they even interviewed her. Yet she has no problem taking all the credit for someone else's work… thats the biggest problem I have with her. 2nd is her man-handling of the basketball program.
This is true. The Master Plan was laid out long before we were there. I think she was very good at marketing the university though. I saw more positive ads on tv and billboards after she showed up. I still think she wanted to make us like an Ivy League school, but it just would not fit the character of Clifton. Thanks for the comment.