Tom Crean out at IU
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (WISH) — Indiana University has parted ways with head basketball coach Tom Crean.
The university announced the news Thursday afternoon.
Crean had a 166-135 record with the team. Crean came to the team in 2008 after a successful run at Marquette.
“I cannot wait to represent these young men, to represent this university, to represent the faculty, to represent the student body, to represent the state of Indiana as the head basketball coach here,” were Crean’s words when he was introduced as head coach in April of 2008.
Crean took over for disgraced former coach Kelvin Sampson. The program’s first signature recruiting effort occurred in 2010 when Cody Zeller signed on to come to IU.
Many Hoosier fans would probably call the last-second buzzer beater to defeat #1 Kentucky on Dec. 20, 2011 as Crean’s most memorable victory. The shot by Christian Watford sent all of Bloomington into a frenzy.
IU’s Fred Glass issued the following statement:
After deliberative thought and evaluation, including multiple meetings with Tom about the future, I have decided to make a change in the leadership of our men’s basketball program. Tom Crean brought us through one of the most challenging periods in IU basketball history, led his players to many successes in the classroom and on the court and represented our university with class and integrity. While winning two outright Big Ten titles in five years and being named Big Ten Coach of the Year, Tom worked tirelessly to develop great young men and successful teams. However, ultimately, we seek more consistent, high levels of success, and we will not shy away from our expectations. Tom is a good man and a good coach and we owe him a great debt of gratitude for his many positive contributions to Indiana basketball. We wish him well.
The national search for our new coach begins immediately. The Board of Trustees and the President have expressly delegated to me the responsibility and authority for this search and hire. While I will not be establishing a formal search committee or advisory committee, I will consult with basketball experts from around the country and throughout the State of Indiana, including many former Indiana University basketball players. The expectations for Indiana University basketball are to perennially contend for and win multiple Big Ten championships, regularly go deep in the NCAA tournament, and win our next national championship-and more after that. We will identify and recruit a coach who will meet these expectations.
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