[Rosiak's Blog] MU's Cottingham has work to do

[ToddRosiakSays]

MU's Cottingham has work to do

Written by: Don Walker


Steve Cottingham, Marquette's newly minted athletic director, has his first big challenge in finding a replacement for men's basketball coach Tom Crean, who is leaving for Indiana University.

Cottingham could not be reached for comment Tuesday on the circumstances of Crean's move to the Big Ten. But it's safe to say that Cottingham will have to move quickly to find a new head coach. He might start at the Final Four this weekend in San Antonio, where many of the nation's coaches and athletic administrators will gather.

Cottingham's background at Marquette was in administration. An attorney, Cottingham got involved in athletic administration and was the school's interim athletic director after former athletic director Bill Cords retired.

Although Cottingham initially said he was not interested in the AD job, he later changed his mind and accepted the job after consulting with top MU administrators, including university president Father Robert Wild.

At this point, it's unclear what kind of experience Cottingham has in terms of finding a new coach to keep the program going in the highly competitive Big East Conference. 

In the meantime, Marquette fans will be anxious to find out who replaces Crean. The good news is that Marquette, which paid Crean at least $1.5 million a year to run the program, appears to have the financial means to go after his replacement.



http://blogs.jsonline.com/muhoops/archive/2008/04/01/mu-s-cottingham-has-work-to-do.aspx