NCAA News Wire
Ohio hires ND State’s Phillips as coach
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
Ohio University reached an agreement on Saturday with North Dakota State’s Saul Phillips to fill its head coaching vacancy, according to multiple reports.
Phillips confirmed that he is replacing Jim Christian, who left Ohio on Thursday after two seasons to take the Boston College job.
“I am extremely excited about the future of Ohio basketball and I am elated to have a chance to add to its rich tradition,” Phillips said in a statement. “This is an outstanding university in a terrific community. I share the vision of the administration as to what the enormous potential is of this storied program.
“I simply cannot wait to start working with our players and helping them reach their potential. I want our fans and my players to know that I will pour maximum energy and enthusiasm into Bobcat basketball.”
In seven seasons at North Dakota State, Phillips led the Bison to a 118-71 record and two Summit League championships. This season, North Dakota State went 26-6 and upended fifth-seeded Oklahoma in the second round of the NCAA Tournament before losing to fourth-seeded San Diego State.
Phillips, who was mentioned as a candidate for several other coaching vacancies across the country, is closely tied to Wisconsin Bo Ryan. He played for Ryan at Wisconsin-Platteville and then worked for five years under him as an assistant at Wisconsin-Milwaukee and in Madison.
Ohio finished with 25 wins this season under Christian, who replaced John Groce two years ago as Bobcats coach. Groce is now the head coach at Illinois.
