Training Ground: Tulsa and Montana Join Schools Losing Seven Head Coaches

The departure of Danny Manning to Wake Forest enabled Tulsa to join Idaho, Kansas State and Penn as schools losing the most head coaches, seven, over the years to other major colleges or the NBA. Montana followed suit when Wayne Tinkle left his alma mater to align with Oregon State.

Incredibly, Tulsa lost four coaches in a seven-year span from 1995 to 2001. If Frank Haith is successful at all as coach with the Golden Hurricane after leaving Missouri's program in disarray, the prospect of such an opportunist living up to the obligations of his original seven-year deal is remote. The following list shows Idaho (11 years from 1983 to 1993) and Penn (15 years from 1971 to 1985) losing four coaches in comparable short spans:

Idaho - 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 - 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 - 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)

Penn - 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 - 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)