Tod Kowalczyk Named New Basketball Coach

March 30, 2010 - Toledo got a new basketball coach today, as Tod Kowalczyk (Ko-wall-check) was introduced to the press, university officials and fans this afternoon.

Kowalczyk is coming off of two-straight 22 win seasons at Wisconsin-Green Bay where he was the head coach for eight years.

Toledo AD Mike O'Brien said that someone told him today that Kowalczyk was the total package, and listed some of the accomplishments of the new coach:

*In eight years at Green Bay he graduated every player that used up his eligibility

*His team APR was 965

*He took a losing program at Green Bay and continually improved it including a win over #11 Butler last year and wins over Wisconsin, and MAC members Kent and Akron on the road this past season

*In 2009-10, his team was 12-4 in games decided by single digits and 6-0 in games decided by the last possession

Kowalczyk grew up in Green Bay, and spoke about how difficult it was to leave his hometown and his UWGB team, But he felt that the opportunity at UT was too good to pass up. He said that it was a better opportunity to win at a higher level. Kowalczyk did his research about every aspect of UT, and said it was the best job in the MAC. Location, a tremendous campus and a big-time football program were some of the things that attracted him to Toledo. He was told that it was a great career move by three of his best friends in the profession, Tom Crean, Tom Izzo and former Kent State and current TCU head coach Jim Christian.

He said that he's going to build the program the right way, "with good guys from good families, that will graduate. Every time we meet with recruits or their families, the first thing we will talk about is that they will graduate from a great institution and an institution that cares about them as people. The second thing that we will talk to them about is the opportunity to get better every day. I'm a firm believer, especially at this level, that you build championship programs by getting your players better every day."

Recruiting is a big concern for Rocket fans, but at this point Kowalczyk doesn't have enough information to know what opportunities could be available for the spring signing period. He met with the team earlier in the day, and will have a practice this evening. He will also strive to talk to all of the players' parents this evening. After meeting with the players individually, the new coach said he will have a better idea about who wants to be a part of this program's future, where they stand academically and which players the coaching staff wants to return. He said that for players who want to leave, he will help them find new schools.

UT freshman Malcolm Griffin said that the team meeting with Kowalczyk was good, and he was impressed that the new coach wanted each player to talk a little about their family. "That was good, because no coach has ever asked me about my family." He said it was a shock when we found out Gene Cross wasn't coming back, but Mike O'Brien told the team he was going to bring in a quality coach. "We're all looking forward to playing for him and a new start." Griffin , from Chicago, also liked the fact that the new staff was going to be recruiting hard in his home town. "That's good. There are a lot of tough players in Chicago. If we get a couple of Chicago players, we're gonna be running."

Kowalczyk has had a varied coaching background including jobs as an assistant at Big East members Marquette and Rutgers, which gave him the opportunity to recruit east coast prep schools. Although most of his team is from Wisconsin, he has recruited the entire Midwest and Ohio will be his first target for players.

Two of Kowalczyk's assistants at Green Bay were at the press conference, and have accepted jobs at UT. They are Angres Thorpe, a Chicago native, who Kowalczyk described as a tremendous recruiter and who has previously coached at St. Louis and Ball State, and Jason Kaslow who was the NCAA Division III Player of the Year in 2005 at Wisconson-Stevens Point and a three-time All-American. Another assistant, Brian Wardle, could join the UT staff if he isn't offered the head job at UWGB. The fourth leading scorer in Marquette history, Wardle has been at UWGB for five seasons. He was a finalist in the "Rising Stars" category of the BasketballScoop 2009 Assistant Coach of the Year award. He is originally from suburban Chicago.

As far as the type of team Rocket fans could see under Kowalczyk's leadership, he said that he likes transition basketball, getting players out on fast breaks for easy scores and a half-court man-to-man defensive team. He has always had good guards, and expects them, and the rest of his perimeter players to be good three-point shooters because he believes in shooting lots of threes.

Kowalczyk signed a five-year contract with a $280,000 base and a marketing arrangement worth an additional $30,000. Other incentives include winning a division title, winning a MAC championship and going to the NCAA Tournament.