Change of Scenery: From King of Hill to Looking Uphill at Small-School Level
Butler's bench boss before Brad Stevens guided the mid-major Bulldogs to back-to-back NCAA Tournament championship games was Todd Lickliter, who earned national coach of the year acclaim in 2007 with his third season of more than 25 victories in his first six campaigns. After a shaky three-season stint with Iowa, Lickliter has resurfaced at the small-college level by becoming the new coach for Marian (IN).
Lickliter is one of only a handful of individuals named national coach of the year at the highest level before subsequently coaching a small school. Coincidentally, Marian is the alma mater of Bill Hodges, who directed Larry Bird-led Indiana State to the 1979 NCAA title contest.
Many observers might think Rollie Massimino, the coach at Northwood (FL) the previous six seasons after directing Villanova to the 1985 NCAA crown, is in this rare category. But Massimino is among high-profile mentors such as Denny Crum, Billy Donovan, Bo Ryan and Gary Williams never to receive one of the major national coach of the year awards (AP, NABC, Naismith, UPI, USBWA).
Lickliter and Hodges are among the following seven major-college national coaches of the year - two of them from San Francisco - who subsequently coached a small school:
| National Coach of Year | School (Award Season) | Subsequent Small College | Tenure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bob Gaillard | San Francisco (1976-77) | Lewis & Clark (OR) | 1989-90 through 2010-11 |
| Bill Hodges | Indiana State (1978-79) | Georgia College | 1986-87 through 1990-91 |
| Ed Jucker | Cincinnati (1962-63) | Rollins (FL) | 1972-73 through 1976-77 |
| Abe Lemons | Texas (1977-78) | Oklahoma City* | 1985-86 through 1989-90 |
| Todd Lickliter | Butler (2006-07) | Marian (IN) | since 2012-13 |
| Jim O'Brien | Ohio State (1998-99) | Emerson (MA) | 2011-12 and 2012-13 |
| Phil Woolpert | San Francisco (1954-55 and 1955-56) | San Diego | 1962-63 through 1968-69 |
*OCU was still a DI school in 1983-84 and 1984-85 during Lemons' second stint as coach.
NOTE: San Diego moved up to the NCAA DI level in 1979-80.