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Coach Joplin: Fired

http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080317/SPORTS11/449419581

Head coach Stan Joplin was fired yesterday following the first losing season in five years for the University of Toledo men’s basketball team.

University athletic officials confirmed the 12th-year coach at UT is out. UT athletic department officials would not comment but announced a news conference regarding the men’s basketball program for this morning at Savage Hall.

(snip)

The Rockets had an 11-19 record this year and finished fourth in the Mid-American Conference West Division with a 7-8 league record. Their season ended Thursday with a loss in the MAC tournament quarterfinals to Kent State.

Mr. Joplin, 50, had a 203-155 record at UT. He is one of just six MAC coaches to reach the 200-win mark.

He coached the Rockets to nine winning seasons, with three topping 20 wins.

The firing was unexpected considering that in 2006-07, Mr. Joplin led the Rockets to their first MAC regular-season title in 27 years. UT set a school record with 14 conference wins and after losing in the MAC tournament semifinals, was selected to play in the National Invitation Tournament.

This is... kind of a shock.

created by TheTalentedMrC on Mar 17, 2008 at 10:23:08 am     Comments: 8

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Comments ... #

Successful coach, nice guy. One of the few people that if given the Duke coaching job, I would have to rethink my irrational knee jerk disdain for Duke.

I doubt he'll have a problem finding a better position if not soon, in the near future.

posted by charlatan on Mar 17, 2008 at 05:36:11 pm     #



Toledo needs to decide what they want to be. A few years ago, especially football wise, they were able to compete against the Top 15 schools pretty well. However, UT athletics have been in decline since. The school must decide if they want to build the program up and hopefully get out of the MAC some year, or continue to be a lower tier, mid-major school. Now if they could fire Tom Amstutz, that place could finally turn around.

posted by JustaSooner on Mar 18, 2008 at 01:39:21 am     #



Cause Bob Stoops runs a clean program....

posted by charlatan on Mar 18, 2008 at 01:58:25 am     #



I'm glad he got canned! Never made the Big Dance, and made the NIT maybe 2 or 3 times. He probably was hoping he would be there long enough to have his kid go there for FREE.

posted by kwi50 on Mar 18, 2008 at 09:48:59 am     #



Imagine what Joplin would do in a Bball region at a Bball school. Tom Izzo has nothing but nice things to say about him.

I'm sure Stan Joplin's kids are smart enough and raised well enough to get scholarships to go to school for (CAP LOCK)free.

The only people who didn't seem to care for him were the no-nothing crybaby fans, which is typical of all teams and sports.

posted by charlatan on Mar 18, 2008 at 05:59:03 pm     #



What took so long. Boring brand of basketball, more empty seats than filled ones.

This year took its toll with the PG leaving the team for unspecified reasons (interesting ?) and having many of your recruits not qualif academically. The recruiting process is critical and you must keep up with the academics and eligibility of your recruits in advance.

posted by Hoops on Mar 18, 2008 at 10:17:21 pm     #



Hoops.....amen, bro. I'm sure Stan is a nice guy and has truly given a lot to Toledo, but he also gets paid handsomely to deliver. He clearly has not. This is life in D1 basketball. You graduate, sell tickets, and win. He clearly was not up to par in all areas. Time for UT to try something new. Its way overdue.

posted by weakskd on Mar 21, 2008 at 01:29:42 am     #



Charlatan: Check it out......rumor has it that Stan's own kid was academically ineligible at Southview. If true, that's a damn shame.

posted by weakskd on Mar 21, 2008 at 01:31:53 am     #