Ohio University names Christian as new men’s basketball coach

Nick Shook

The former Kent State, and most recently, TCU coach has accepted the head coaching position at Ohio University, according to reports from CBSSports.com.

In six years at the helm of the Kent State, Christian coached the Flashes to four MAC East Division crowns, two MAC Tournament titles and two NCAA Tournament appearances, and compiled an overall record of 138-58. But after his success with the Flashes led to an opportunity to coach at TCU, Christian went just 56-73 in four seasons as head coach of the Horned Frogs.

According to the report, Christian, who had been making close to $600,000 per year at TCU, will make comparable money at Ohio.

Christian will fill the vacancy left by former head coach John Groce, who coached Ohio all the way to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament, where the Bobcats suffered a difficult overtime loss to No. 1 seed North Carolina. Thanks to the tournament run, Groce became a hot commodity in the coaching market. Illinois wasted no time in hiring Groce as the successor to Bruce Weber, who was fired after a mediocre 2011-12 season, in which the Illini finished 17-15 overall.

Current Kent State head coach Rob Senderoff was an assistant under Christian from 2002-2006 before leaving for Indiana. Senderoff returned in 2008 and succeeded former Kent State and current Bradley head coach Geno Ford.

Ohio officials will officially announce Christian as the program’s new head coach in a press conference Tuesday.

Contact Nick Shook at [email protected].