Training Ground: VCU Wades Among Seven Schools Losing Seven Coaches

Will Wade's departure to Louisiana State enabled Virginia Commonwealth to become the seventh school losing at least seven head coaches over the years to other major colleges or the NBA. VCU lost four bench bosses in the last 12 seasons to a total of three different power conferences.

Incredibly, Tulsa lost four coaches in a seven-year period from 1995 to 2001. The following list shows Idaho (11 years from 1983 to 1993), Princeton (12 years from 2000 to 2011), Murray State (14 years from 1985 to 1998), New Orleans (14 years from 1994 to 2007), Penn (15 years from 1971 to 1985) and Louisiana Tech (16 years from 1974 to 1989) losing four coaches in comparable short spans:

Idaho (7) - Dave MacMillan (left for Minnesota/1927), Dave Strack (Michigan/1960), Joe Cipriano (Nebraska/1963), Don Monson (Oregon/1983), Tim Floyd (New Orleans/1988), Kermit Davis (Texas A&M/1990), Larry Eustachy (Utah State/1993)

Kansas State (7) - Jack Gardner (Utah/1953), Tex Winter (Washington/1968), Cotton Fitzsimmons (Phoenix Suns/1970), Lon Kruger (Florida/1990), Dana Altman (Creighton/1994), Bob Huggins (West Virginia/2008), Frank Martin (South Carolina/2012)

Montana (7) - Jud Heathcote (Michigan State/1976), Jim Brandenburg (Wyoming/1978), Mike Montgomery (Stanford/1986), Stew Morrill (Colorado State/1991), Pat Kennedy (Towson/2004), Larry Krystkowiak (assistant with Milwaukee Bucks/2006), Wayne Tinkle (Oregon State/2014)

Murray State (7) - Ron Greene (Indiana State/1985), Steve Newton (South Carolina/1991), Scott Edgar (Duquesne/1995), Mark Gottfried (Alabama/1998), Mick Cronin (Cincinnati/2006), Billy Kennedy (Texas A&M/2011), Steve Prohm (Iowa State/2015)

Penn (7) - Howie Dallmar (Stanford/1954), Jack McCloskey (Wake Forest/1966), Dick Harter (Oregon/1971), Chuck Daly (assistant with Philadelphia 76ers/1977), Bob Weinhauer (Arizona State/1982), Craig Littlepage (Rutgers/1985), Fran Dunphy (Temple/2006)

Tulsa (7) - Ken Hayes (New Mexico State/1975), Nolan Richardson Jr. (Arkansas/1985), Tubby Smith (Georgia/1995), Steve Robinson (Florida State/1997), Bill Self (Illinois/2000), Buzz Peterson (Tennessee/2001), Danny Manning (Wake Forest/2014)

Virginia Commonwealth (7) - Dana Kirk (Memphis State/1979), J.D. Barnett (Tulsa/1985), Mike Pollio (Eastern Kentucky/1989), Jeff Capel III (Oklahoma/2006), Anthony Grant (Alabama/2009), Shaka Smart (Texas/2015), Will Wade (Louisiana State/2017)

Army (6) - John Mauer (Florida/1951), Bob Vanatta (Bradley/1954), Bob Knight (Indiana/1971), Mike Krzyzewski (Duke/1980), Dino Gaudio (Loyola MD/1997), Zach Spiker (Drexel/2016)

Clemson (6) - Doc Stewart (Texas/1923), Press Maravich (North Carolina State/1962), Bill C. Foster (Miami FL/1984), Cliff Ellis (Auburn/1994), Rick Barnes (Texas/1998), Oliver Purnell (DePaul/2010)

Dartmouth (6) - Ozzie Cowles (Michigan/1946), Dave Gavitt (Providence/1969), George Blaney (Holy Cross/1972), Gary Walters (Providence/1979), Reggie Minton (Air Force/1984), Paul Cormier (Fairfield/1991)

Louisiana Tech (6) - Scotty Robertson (New Orleans Jazz/1974), J.D. Barnett (Virginia Commonwealth/1979), Andy Russo (Washington/1985), Tommy Joe Eagles (Auburn/1989), Jim Wooldridge (assistant with Chicago Bulls/1998), Michael White (Florida/2015)

Marquette (6) - Tex Winter (Kansas State/1953), Rick Majerus (assistant with Milwaukee Bucks/1986), Kevin O'Neill (Tennessee/1994), Mike Deane (Lamar/1999), Tom Crean (Indiana/2008), Buzz Williams (Virginia Tech/2014)

New Orleans (6) - Ron Greene (Mississippi State/1977), Benny Dees (Wyoming/1987), Tim Floyd (Iowa State/1994), Tic Price (Memphis/1997), Monte Towe (assistant with North Carolina State/2006), Buzz Williams (Marquette/2007)

Princeton (6) - Butch van Breda Kolff (Los Angeles Lakers/1967), Pete Carril (assistant with Sacramento Kings/1996), Bill Carmody (Northwestern/2000), John Thompson III (Georgetown/2004), Joe Scott (Denver/2007), Sydney Johnson (Fairfield/2011)

Xavier (6) - Ned Wulk (Arizona State/1957), Bob Staak (Wake Forest/1985), Pete Gillen (Providence/1994), Skip Prosser (Wake Forest/2001), Thad Matta (Ohio State/2004), Sean Miller (Arizona/2009)