Nearly two years into his tenure as the University of Toledo’s athletic director, Bryan Blair will make his first big hire.
Tricia Cullop wasn’t simply the head women’s basketball coach. She was a pillar in the community. Her replacement will be tasked with winning on the court, becoming a visible presence in northwest Ohio, and continuing to be one of the attendance leaders in all of women’s college basketball.
Following Cullop — who has the most wins in program history — will be a difficult task because of her success and likability. It will take a singular personality to handle the pressure and constant comparisons, especially early in their tenure. But make no mistake, this is one of the best Group of Five jobs in the country.
Toledo spends the most on women’s basketball in the MAC, and Blair is dedicated to sustaining that level of commitment.
“I think it’s certainly a top 50 job. And I think that’s the floor,” he said last year after Cullop received a contract extension through the 2029-30 season.
Her base salary last season was $400,000, an increase from $360,000, making her the highest-paid coach in the MAC.
According to Sportico’s college sports financial database, the Rockets spent more than $2.5 million on women’s basketball during the 2022-23 season, $400,000 more than Central Michigan. Buffalo was the only other school that spent at least $2 million.
The reason is obvious: Toledo is undoubtedly a women’s basketball town. The Rockets have led the MAC in attendance for more than 30 years and they routinely rank in the top 30 nationally.
Whoever Blair hires will inherit a program that’s won three consecutive outright MAC titles, with the expectation that more are in the near future.
Here are a dozen names to keep an eye on.
Jessie Ivey
If the Rockets want to stay in-house, Ivey is the obvious candidate. The associate head coach has been part of UT’s three MAC titles and the 2023 NCAA tournament run. She’s been an integral part of game-planning and in-game adjustments. She’s also immensely popular with players.
The Florida native was previously an assistant at Bowling Green and the head coach for two seasons at Division II Tiffin University, where she went 24-33.
Megan Griffith
Perhaps the best mid-major option, Griffith just completed her seventh season at Columbia, leading the Ivy League powerhouse to an at-large berth in the NCAA tournament. Columbia is 76-20 over the past three seasons, with over NCAA tournament appearance, a WNIT runner-up, and a loss in the WNIT quarterfinals.
The 38-year-old is a Philadelphia native, attended Columbia, and was a Princeton assistant prior to taking over at her alma mater. Does a move to Toledo make sense? It’s worth finding out because she’s a rising star.
Kellie Harper
The recently fired Tennessee coach wasn’t bad at her alma mater, she just didn’t win enough at a place with lofty expectations. In her 20-year coaching career, Harper has 11 20-win campaigns only three losing seasons. She’s coached four schools (Western Carolina, NC State, Missouri State, and Tennessee) and guided all four to the NCAA tournament.
It’s more likely that a power program will hire Harper this offseason. But the 46-year-old has done some of her best work at the mid-major level, winning 60 percent of her games at Western Carolina and Missouri State, where she had four NCAA tournament bids in 11 years, including a Sweet 16 berth at Missouri State.
Raina Harmon
The Central Michigan graduate has strong MAC and Midwest ties. Now in her seventh season as an Iowa assistant, Harmon spent five seasons at Central under the successful leadership of Sue Guevara. Harmon has been part of the Caitlin Clark phenomenon at Iowa, as well as All-American and Big Ten player of the year honors for Kathleen Doyle, and enhancing the perimeter shooting of Kate Martin and Hannah Stuelke. Harmon’s first college job was Michigan’s director of basketball operations.
Carla Morrow
The Ohio State associate head coach has spent 15 years in the state — five at OSU and 10 at Xavier. Morrow was previously an assistant with the WNBA’s Chicago Sky. She has been at head coach Kevin McGuff’s side for two Elite Eights — one at Ohio State and one at Xavier. Player development is one of Morrow’s strong suits, as well as her knowledge of Midwest recruiting.
Winston Gandy
It worked for Bowling Green, why not Toledo? Last year, BGSU hired South Carolina assistant Fred Chmiel. Gandy, in his first season with Dawn Staley and the Gamecocks, previously spent three years as an assistant at Duke and Rice. Gandy’s time at Rice overlapped with Blair, who was a senior associate AD. From 2014-17, Gandy worked in player development for the NBA’s Washington Wizards, coinciding with all-stars John Wall and Bradley Beal.
Chris Kielsmeier
If the name sounds familiar it’s because he just coached against the Rockets. Kielsmeier has been the head coach at Cleveland State since 2018, leading the Vikings to a 30-5 record and the NCAA tournament in 2022-23. Cleveland State won 29 games last season and nearly upset Toledo in the WBIT.
In the past five seasons, Cleveland State’s win totals are 21, 14, 23, 30, and 29. Cleveland State is not an easy place to win, but Kielsmeier has found a winning formula, and it involves mining the transfer portal. With Toledo’s resources, there’s no reason to think he can’t continue what Cullop has started in recent seasons.
Kim Cameron
The Michigan State assistant has been by Robyn Fralick’s side for the past six seasons, five at BGSU and one at MSU. Cameron was previously the head coach at Division II Michigan Tech, where she compiled an impressive record of 181-53. In 2011, she led Michigan Tech to the national championship game. Cameron’s entire career has been spent in Ohio and Michigan.
Calamity McEntire
In recent weeks, much has been made about the careers of former Indiana men’s basketball managers. Well, McEntire was a Tennessee women’s basketball manager for Pat Summit before embarking on a coaching career. She spent 14 years in various capacities at Fresno State, UC Santa Barbara, Boise State, Arizona, and Hawaii. But the Oklahoma native has spent six of the past seven seasons in the Midwest, four at Dayton and two at Illinois, which won the inaugural WBIT this week.
McEntire just finished her second season as the Illini’s associate head coach. In 2022-23, Illinois reached the NCAA tournament for the first time in 20 years. During her lone season at Texas (2021-22), the Longhorns reached the Elite Eight. Dayton reached the NCAA tournament twice in McEntire’s four seasons.
Tony Greene
If Blair wants to make a hire with Toledo ties, the Baylor associate head coach is a good place to start. Greene spent three seasons at Toledo (2015-18), including the program’s first NCAA tournament berth in 16 years. He left UT for Mississippi (2018-20) and then spent one season at Marquette. Baylor is 63-22 in Greene’s three seasons as an assistant, with three NCAA tournament appearances. The Bears lost to USC in the Sweet 16 last week. Greene primarily works with guards and team defense.
Kelly Komara
Could the Rockets go from one Purdue graduate to another? Komara, an Indiana native, just finished her first season as Purdue’s associate head coach. She was a guard for the Boilermakers’ 1999 national championship team. Komara’s Midwest roots are strong beyond her home state and alma mater -- she also coached at Marquette, Valparaiso, and Northwestern. She also spent five seasons at Vanderbilt.
Latoja Schaben
Another potential candidate with Toledo ties, Schaben was the 1993 MAC player of the year and an All-American for the Rockets. The Mansfield native has spent the last 27 years at Iowa State on the staff of Bill Fennelly, who was her coach at UT. Schaben has been part of nearly 600 wins, multiple trips to the Elite Eight, and three Big 12 championships at Iowa State, as the Cyclones have been a perennial NCAA tournament team under Fennelly.
First Published April 5, 2024, 6:48 p.m.
