CollegeSportsInfo.com News: Nebraska Coach Collier Takes Butler AD Job

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

Nebraska Coach Collier Takes Butler AD Job

Barry Collier resigned as Nebraska's basketball coach Tuesday to become athletic director at Butler, where he coached basketball for 11 years.

Nebraska athletic director Steve Pederson announced the move and was to appear at a news conference later in the day with executive associate athletic director Marc Boehm.

"We wish him all the best in his new career path," Pederson said.

Collier, who coached at Butler from 1989-2000, has declined comment. He was the Bulldogs' winningest coach and was inducted into Butler's Hall of Fame on Saturday.

The 52-year-old Collier coached the Cornhuskers for six years. His job status was the subject of speculation last season before Pederson announced after the Big 12 tournament that Collier would be retained.

If he had been fired at the end of the season, it would have cost Nebraska $976,090 to buy out the last two years of his four-year contract. Collier will be taking a likely $400,000-plus salary cut with his move to Butler.

The Cornhuskers finished 19-13 last season but lost six of their last eight regular-season games to finish in sixth place in the Big 12 at 7-9. They knocked off Missouri and Oklahoma to reach the semifinals of the Big 12 tournament. The Huskers played in the NIT, losing to Hofstra.

Collier left Butler in 2000, going 196-132 with winning records in all but two years at the Indianapolis school. He guided the Bulldogs to the NCAA Tournament in 1997, 1998 and 2000. As a player at Butler, Collier was the team's co-MVP in 1975-76.

Even though it is early August, Nebraska is confident that they can land a quality head coach, according to a source. The most obvious candidate isn't likely to move in. Dana Altman of rival Creighton is at a basketball-crazed school, and he makes comparable money (reported by the Omaha World-Herald as being between $700,000 and $800,000).

High on Nebraska's list are Nevada's Mark Fox, a former Kansas State assistant, and Kent State's Jim Christian.

Fox, though, returns four of five starters to the Wolf Pack, including potential WAC MVP Nick Fazekas who withdrew from the NBA draft in June. Fox signed a five-year deal with a buyout of $250,000 prior to last season. His wife, Cindy, is an assistant athletic director at the school. Nevada is likely going to be picked as the favorite to win the WAC and get back to the NCAAs. The Wolf Pack will be without forward Demarshay Johnson for the first semester after he was ruled academically ineligible. A source close to Fox said he hasn't been contacted.

Christian, who was an assistant at Pitt in the late '90s when current Nebraska athletic director Steve Pederson and assistant AD Marc Boehm were at Pitt, may be more likely to make the jump at this stage. A source close to Christian said he would leave if Nebraska offered the job. Christian signed a seven-year contract following the Golden Flashes' 25-9 season and NCAA Tournament berth after winning the MAC tournament title game. Christian has a buyout of $250,000, as well.

The Huskers may also look at Rice coach Willis Wilson. But the focus, according to sources, could be Fox and Christian with the Huskers likely to move quickly once Collier tells them that he is out.

Potential Nebraska Coach Candidates:

Dana Altman - Creighton coach

Mark Fox - Nevada coach

Jim Christian - Kent St. coach

Willis Wilson - Rice coach

Lon Kruger - UNLV coach

Doug Novsek - Nebraska Assistant

Longshot:

Kevin McKenna - Creighton Assistant, former UNO coach

Labels: coaching changes

posted by Matt Peloquin # 8/01/2006

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