Mid-Major Miami (Ohio) Hanging Hoop Hopes With Mr. Cooper From HBCU

Despite talk about former Kentucky guard Sean Woods becoming a candidate at LSU after guiding Mississippi Valley to the NCAA playoffs, no power six conference ever has gone to a historically black college or university to hire its head basketball coach. In fact, very few mid-major Division I schools have attracted a coach from the SWAC and MEAC since the leagues moved up to the major-college level in 1979-80 and 1980-81, respectively.

John Cooper became the fifth coach in this HBCU category when Miami (Ohio) lured him away from Tennessee State after he guided the Tigers to their first 20-win season in 33 years. Cooper joined Jeff Capel Jr. (North Carolina A&T to Old Dominion after 1993-94 campaign), Rob Chavez (Maryland-Eastern Shore to Portland after 1993-94), Steve Merfeld (Hampton to Evansville after 2001-02) and James Green (Mississippi Valley State to Jacksonville State after 2007-08).

It should be noted that John McLendon was the first African-American mentor hired by a predominantly white university when he coached Cleveland State for three seasons in the late 1960s just prior to the institution moving up to DI. After winning three consecutive NAIA titles with Tennessee State in the late 1950s, McLendon had been the first African-American head coach in professional sports when he was hired in the early 1960s by the George Steinbrenner-owned Cleveland Pipers of the short-lived American Basketball League.