University of Cincinnati hires John Brannen of Northern Kentucky as basketball coach

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CINCINNATI – The University of Cincinnati has traveled 10 miles from Ohio to hire its new basketball coach.

UC named newcomer John Brannen of Northern Kentucky University, replacing Mick Cronin on Sunday.

Brannen, 45, has placed NKU basketball on the Division I card for the past three years, leading the Nordiques to two NCAA tournaments, two Horizon League tournaments and regular season championships, as well as a appearance at NIT in his first coaching position.

To his credit, no other school has ever matched NKU's success from division II to active status in Division I.

In a statement, UC Sports Director Mike Bohn said Brannen "was coaching an exciting style of basketball", which may or may not be a shot against Cronin, who was preaching the defense.

The Newport Central Catholic High School graduate has recorded an 81-51 record in four years at NKU since his arrival in 2015. This includes a score of 72-30 over the last three seasons (24-11, 22-10, and 26-9) after a 9-21 record in his debut.

Brannen's teams were outperformed but competed against Texas Tech, NCAA finalist, Texas Tech in the first round of NCAA defeats in 2017 and 2019, respectively. This is also true for a defeat against Louisville in 2018.

Brannen comes to UC with a coaching experience in major conferences after six years as an assistant in Alabama, which earned him the post at NKU. He was Associate Head Coach for two years and Acting Tide Head Coach at the 2015 NIT.

Brannen has earned a reputation for being one of the best recruiters in Alabama and VCU, where he spent three seasons. Brannen was also an assistant coach in St. Bonaventure, East Kentucky and Charleston.

"We are delighted to welcome John, his wife Lisa and their daughters, Jaylee and Katelyn, into the Bearcats family," Bohn said. "He has a proven track record as a head coach, has long-standing ties with the local community, and leads an exciting basketball style. We were impressed by his passion, drive, determination and keen eye for basketball during the interview process, where he truly proved to be the best coach to lead the Cincinnati basketball program with a bright future. . "

At Bohn's point, NKU was ranked 44th in offensive last season (78.5 points per game) while UC's ranked 198th (71.7). UC was 14th in scoring defense (62.7) while NKU was 106th (68.9).

"It's truly an honor to take on such a prestigious program at the University of Cincinnati," said Brannen, a native of Alexandria, Kentucky. "The Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky community is special for my family and we are happy to stay at home. I want to thank President Pinto, Mike Bohn and the Research Committee for this opportunity. We are excited to join a world class university and continue to build on the historic success of Bearcats basketball and the incredible lineage of former coaches. "

Brannen is a big loss for NKU, but it was only a matter of time before a big school kidnapped him.

"Head Coach Brannen has been an excellent ambassador for Northern Kentucky University during his four years as a head coach," said NKU President Ashish Vaidya in a statement. "We are grateful for what he has done to make the Nordic men's basketball brand a leading program in the Horizon League and wish John and his family all the best for this next project." Nordic Men is well positioned to continue its remarkable success and showcase this great university. "

NKU said that a "national search" to replace Brannen would begin immediately.

UC plans a press conference on Monday morning to formally present Brannen.

Brannen becomes the 27th coach in the history of the UC. Cronin, head coach of the UC for 13 years,

took the job at UCLA last week.

Cronin had recommended his assistant head coach, Darren Savino, to replace him at UC. At his press conference at UCLA, Cronin said Savino would join his staff at UCLA if UC did not appoint him as head coach.

Brannen is expected to get a substantial increase of the $ 350,000 that he has earned at NKU last season. UC paid $ 2.2 million to Cronin.

As a player, Brannen shared his academic career between Morehead State and Marshall, where he led the Southern Conference in scoring. A finalist on the Rhodes Scholarship, Brannen received scholarships from the NCAA and the Southern Conference. He played two professional football seasons in the Belgian Premier League before starting his coaching career.

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