Ohio Bobcats’ John Groce To Coach Illinois Fighting Illini
University of Illinois sports fans will soon get to know the name John Groce very well, that’s because the Ohio Bobcats’ head coach will be named as the new head coach of the Illini men’s basketball team on Thursday afternoon.
This past season Groce took Ohio to the Sweet 16 where they eventually lost to North Carolina during an overtime match.
According to reports Groce sat down with athletic director Mike Thomas to etch out a contract which was finalized during the early morning hours on Wednesday.
The 40-year-old Groce is replacing Bruce Weber who was fired on March 9 after nine seasons with Illinois. Weber was fired after the Illini failed to reach the NCAA tournament for the third time since 2008. Under Weber’s leadership since 2008 the Illini have a 41-49 losing record in the Big Ten. During the 2011-2012 season Illinois finished 17-15 overall and just 6-12 in the Big Ten conference.
Groce managed to take his No. 13-seeded Bobcats to the Sweet 16 after impressive victories over No. 4-seeded Michigan and No. 12-seeded South Florida. This year was Ohio’s second NCAA appearance in four seasons under Groce’s leadership. Ohio finished this past season with a 29-8 overall record including an 11-5 record in the MAC for a third place finish in the MAC East. During the coaches four years the Bobcats were 85-56 overall and 34-30 in their conference.
Before heading up the Ohio Bobcats Groce was an assistant at Xavier from 2001-2004 and before that he coached at Butler from 2000-2001. Groce has also spent time at North Carolina State and Taylor (Ind.) University.
The University of Illinois will be required to pay Ohio $200,000 for terminating Groce’s contract early. Groce had signed a contract extension with Ohio in April of 2010, a contract that would have secured his job through the 2014-2015 season.
Illinois already owes Weber $3.9 million after terminating his contract with three years remaining under his current terms.
