January 30, 2008

Cincinnati, OH (UWIRE) -- University of Cincinnati basketball was once one of the dominant programs in college basketball.

Few would argue after UC reached 14 consecutive NCAA Tournaments, won 10 Conference Championships and finished six seasons ranked in the top-10.

But there was a rift between former head coach Bob Huggins and Dr. Nancy Zimpher, the president of UC, and the Board of Trustees.

The arguments eventually ended in the forced resignation of Huggins in August 2005.

Reflecting back on the situation would Zimpher change anything?

"[I would] probably close the window for the ultimate decision," Zimpher said. "I lingered in hopes that the decision would resolve itself, probably longer than I should have. I have a lot of Monday morning quarterbacks, who say 'You should have done this in '04.' Yeah, right. There are no second chances in life, right? So it isn't a perfect world. The thing that has sustained me is that the decision was the right decision."

That decision has set the basketball program back. Since the firing, the Bearcats have had trouble living up to what they were during Huggin's tenure.

Since the termination of Huggins, UC has a winnning percentage of .466, compared to the .759 winning percentage they had with Huggins.

Fans support is down for the Bearcats, as they have averaged just 8,250 fans in Fifth Third Arena, an all-time arena low, compared to 11,305 in Huggins final year at UC in 2004-05.

According to current head coach Mick Cronin, who took over for interim coach Andy Kennedy in March 2006, fans showing up to the games is a concern.

As attendance declines, so does the money made from men's basketball.

UC Director of Athletics, Mike Thomas deferred all specific questions about revenue to Jeanette Shoecraft, the Chief Fiscal Officer of UC athletics.

According to the Dec. 22, 2007 edition of The Cincinnati Enquirer, in 2004-05, UC's last year in the NCAA Tournament, men's basketball generated $6.5 million.

In 2005-06, the figure was $4.8 million.

Thomas told The Cincinnati Enquirer for the fiscal year 2006-07, basketball earned $1 million.

Zimpher said she could not attest to those numbers.

Thomas said he believes the money will be generated in time.

"Traditionally basketball has made money here," Thomas said. "We're not at a point where we want to be now, we've had a little slippage. But I can say I'm really optimistic that sooner rather than later that revenue will be generated, because any sport that sells tickets will generate revenue. But to say that [men's basketball] will make money again, I think it will happen sooner rather than later."

Donors to The University of Cincinnati Athletics Team Scholarships, or UCATS has been decreasing.

In 2006, former Associate Athletic Director Brian Teter told The News Record in 2004-05 there were 2,344 donors to UCATS, but dropped by 163 members the following year.

According to the UCATS 2007 brochure, there were 1,962 donors to the athletic scholarship fund.

Michelle McBride, a former assistant athletics director told The News Record in 2006 one of the reasons in the drop in memberships in UCATS was the forced resignation of Huggins.

Zimpher said she has no regrets about the decision to terminate Huggins.

"It's a tough call and a slow recovery, but we're going to get there, and I think where we were was massively affecting our reputation, and our commitment to academics and I can't imagine you would want to go to an institution where the commitment to academics are compromised" Zimpher said. "That's my story, and I'm sticking to it."

(C) 2008 The News Record via UWIRE