O’Shea finally confirms he’s leaving OU
By Caleb Troop
June 23, 2008
After months of rumors and speculation, Ohio University head basketball coach Tim O’Shea is leaving the school after seven seasons. O’Shea is expected to be named the head coach of Bryant University (Rhode Island) in a press conference scheduled for 11 a.m. today.
He becomes the fourth head coach since February to leave OU and the third coach to leave under new Ohio Director of Athletics Jim Schaus.
“This is a hard decision,” O’Shea said. “But it really came down to the simple fact of the security this new situation offered. My daughter is going into the fifth grade, so this is probably a good time to move her.
“When I called my 84-year-old mother and told her that we would be moving back, she started crying a little bit,” he said. “To have a chance to move back at this point really feels like it is right.”
O’Shea will receive an eight-year guaranteed contract to help transition the NCAA Division II Bulldogs into Division I basketball this fall. He declined to release the financial terms of the contract, but did admit he will take a pay cut. He leaves Ohio with two years remaining on a contract that pays him nearly $200,000 annually. Overall, O’Shea posted a 120-95 record, including a 2005 NCAA Tournament berth with the ’Cats.
“I was already up there on vacation,” said O’Shea, who has a second home in Newport, R.I, roughly an hour south of the Bryant campus in Smithfield, R.I. “I was contacted, and when I knew the parameters of the job in terms of how long they were willing to commit to a coach, I was really intrigued.
“Honestly, I think it is a great opportunity,” he continued. “For me, the idea of taking a team into Division I at a place that has resources and a real commitment to their athletics program was exciting.”
O’Shea, who had previously been connected to multiple coaching rumors with Providence, Massachusetts, Bucknell and Brown over the last several months, will coach the Bulldogs as they enter play in the Northeastern Conference.
He said he’s pleased with his time with the Bobcats.
“I think one of the things I’m proudest of is that over a seven-year period of time, every senior but one my first year got a degree,” he said. “I enjoyed being part of the Athens community, I really did. I thought this was a great place to coach college basketball.”
O’Shea might be leaving Athens for now, but he is scheduled to be back in town on Nov. 15 as Ohio and Bryant square off for a non-conference game.
“I had a great experience at Ohio,” said O’Shea. “I’m definitely going to show up (to play that game). I just hope people understand that I loved my time in Athens and being the head coach there.
“But I’m also pragmatic enough to recognize that coaching jobs are not lifetime appointments,” he said. “I just kind of felt like it was time for a new challenge, and it was also a move that was not only good for me but also for Ohio basketball.”
After taking roughly a week to hire Semeka Randall as the next women’s basketball coach at Ohio, Schaus will quickly look to find a replacement for O’Shea.
In a statement released by the university, Schaus said he would not discuss the future of Ohio basketball until after today’s press conference at Bryant.
“It is my policy to reserve comment on specific individuals involved in personnel searches, be it here at Ohio or at other institutions,” said Schaus.
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