HIRING LINE
Who did Bjork pick as coaches before being named Ohio State athletic director?
In his career as an athletic director, Ross Bjork has hired his share of coaches.
When he begins his tenure at Ohio State on July 1, Bjork will be bringing 14 years of experience as an athletic director split between Western Kentucky, Mississippi and Texas A&M, and in that time, Bjork has hired 25 coaches in 10 different sports.
Here’s a look at each of their tenures.
WESTERN KENTUCKY (2010-12) Men’s golf: Phillip Hatchett (2010-18)
Hatchett, a former four-year letter winner for Western Kentucky golf, spent eight seasons as the Hilltoppers’ coach. He led the team to five top-five performances in 2017-18, while golfer Billy Tom Sargent was named All-conference USA second team and became the second Western Kentucky golfer to qualify for an NCAA Regional.
Hatchett was killed after being struck by a vehicle while cycling at age 55 ahead of the 2018-19 school year.
Men’s basketball: Ray Harper (2012-16)
Harper, a Western Kentucky assistant, replaced Ken Mcdonald in the middle of the 2011-12 season.
In 2011-12, Harper led the Hilltoppers to a Sun Belt Conference tournament win and to an NCAA Tournament First Four game, beating Mississippi Valley State to secure a date against No. 1 seed Kentucky. The Wildcats beat Western Kentucky 81-66.
Harper spent four-plus seasons at Western Kentucky, posting an 89-64 record including two NCAA Tournament bids and an NIT bid in 2014-15. Under Harper, the Hilltoppers won two Sun Belt Conference tournaments.
He resigned when three of his players were suspended by the school for undisclosed violations of school policy following an internal disciplinary hearing.
Baseball: Matt Myers (2012-15)
In four seasons with the Hilltoppers, Myers finished with a record of 106-118, leading to his dismissal.
Women’s basketball: Michelle Clark-heard (2012-18)
From 2012-18, Clark-heard led Western Kentucky to 154 wins in 201 games, including two Conference USA regular-season and tournament championships. Under Clark-heard, Western Kentucky played in four NCAA Tournaments.
Cincinnati hired her away in 2018.
MISSISSIPPI (2012-19) Women’s basketball: Adrian Wiggins (2012)
Wiggins led Fresno State to five straight NCAA appearances, but his time at Ole Miss was short-lived.
Wiggins was placed on leave and eventually fired for “impermissible recruiting contacts and academic misconduct committed by members of his staff ” after two of the team’s junior college transfers turned out to have failed to meet NCAA transfer standards.
The NCAA issued Wiggins a two-year show-cause penalty, while the women’s basketball program selfimposed a postseason ban for the 2012-13 season.
Women’s basketball: Brett Frank (2012-13)
Bjork promoted assistant Frank, who then led the
Rebels to a 9-20 record, winning only two of 16 games against SEC opponents. Ole Miss finished the season losing nine of 10 conference games, and Frank was fired after one season.
Women’s basketball: Matt Insell (2013-18)
Insell, a former Kentucky women’s basketball assistant, spent five seasons with the Rebels before he was let go, leaving with a 70-87 record.
Volleyball: Steven Mcroberts (2014-19)
Mcroberts eclipsed 100 wins in six seasons, leading the Rebels to four straight winning seasons from 201417.
Mcroberts helped Ole Miss to 16 regular-season tournament titles with multiple players earning Allamerica, All-region and ALL-SEC honors. Mcroberts departed the team in 2019 after a 12-game losing streak helped Ole Miss to its second-straight losing season. It was described as a mutual parting by the coach and school.
Softball: Mike Smith (2014-19)
In five years, Smith led the Rebels to an 187-112 record, four NCAA Regional berths and two Super Regionals. Ole Miss won the SEC Championship under Smith in 2017.
Smith resigned from his position ahead of the 2020 season after being placed on administrative leave following a “non-financial, external audit” of the program, according to The Oxford Eagle.
Men’s golf: Chris Malloy (2014-present)
In his first nine seasons, Malloy led Ole Miss to eight tournament titles. He helped Braden Thornberry become the first national champion in Ole Miss golf history in 2017, along with developing two All-americans, three first-team ALL-SEC golfers and four SEC Allfreshman golfers.
Women’s golf: Kory Henkes (2015-present)
Henkes led the Rebels to a national championship in 2021 – Ole Miss’ first national championship for a women’s team in school history, and the athletic department’s first since the football team won a title in 1962. Henkes earned WGCA National Coach of the Year honors in 2021.
Track: Connie Price-smith (2015-present)
Under Price-smith, Ole Miss has had seven NCAA individual title winners, 67 SEC champions and 143 first- or second-team All-americans. Ole Miss has also recorded 24 total top-25 team finishes in both track and cross country.
Rifle: Marsha Beasley (2016-23)
Beasley was a two-time College Rifle Coaches Association Coach of the Year. Before retiring, she guided the Rebels to three straight NCAA Championship appearances.
Football: Matt Luke (2017-19)
Before he was fired after the 2019 season, Luke led the Rebels to a 15-21 record, winning six of 24 SEC games and finishing sixth in the SEC West for three straight years.
Men’s basketball: Tony Madlock (2018)
Andy Kennedy resigned after 12 seasons with Ole Miss men’s basketball, paving the way to Madlock leading the Rebels for the final five games of the 201718 season.
The Rebels lost four of those five games, and he was not retained on the next coaching staff.
Men’s basketball: Kermit Davis (2018-23)
Davis took Ole Miss to the NCAA Tournament in 2018-19, but the Rebels had only one winning season in his next four years at the helm, including an NIT appearance in 2020-21. Davis finished with a 74-79 record.
Women’s basketball:
Yolett Mcphee-mccuin (2018-present)
Mcphee-mccuin had two losing seasons to start her tenure, but she took the Rebels to a WNIT runnerup finish in 2021 before back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances, including a Sweet Sixteen finish in 2023.
TEXAS A&M (2019-23) Men’s basketball: Buzz Williams (2019-present)
After accumulating 100 wins at Virginia Tech from 2014-19, Williams led the Aggies to the NIT finals in 2021-22 and the first round of the NCAA Tournament in 2022-23. In those two seasons, Williams led Texas A&M to 52 wins.
Men’s golf: Brian Kortan (2020-present)
Having been with Texas A&M as an assistant coach since 2013, Brian Kortan took over as interim coach in 2020 before being elevated to the position full-time in 2021. In four seasons, Kortan has led the Aggies to two NCAA championship appearances.
Women’s golf: Gerrod Chadwell (2021-present)
Chadwell has led the Aggies to two NCAA semifinals and to their first SEC Championship since 2015.
Baseball: Jim Schlossnagle (2022-present)
Schlossnagle took Texas A&M to the College World Series in his first season on the job.
After 18 years at TCU, Schlossnagle led the Aggies to a 44-20 record in 2022 and won the SEC Western Division title. In 2023, the Aggies played in the SEC tournament championship and ended the season in the NCAA regional.
Women’s basketball: Joni Taylor (2022-present)
After seven seasons at Georgia, Taylor guided Texas A&M to the quarterfinals in the 2023 SEC tournament after a 9-20 regular season. Taylor’s Aggies have improved in 2023-24, beginning this year 14-3.
Softball: Trisha Ford (2022-present)
Ford took over ahead of the 2023 season and led the Aggies to a 35-21 record, the club’s most regular-season wins since 2018.
Volleyball: Jamie Morrison (2022-present)
Morrison took Texas A&M to the NCAA Tournament in his first season in College Station.
Football: Mike Elko (2024-present)
Although it has been reported that Bjork wanted to hire Kentucky’s Mike Stoops, it was Elko was named 2022 ACC Coach of the Year at Duke after leading the Aggies’ defense in 2018-21.