BRYANT WELCOMES NEW MEN'S BASKETBALL COACH TIM O'SHEA; WATCH ARCHIVED VIDEO

June 23, 2008

TIM O'SHEA NAMED HEAD MEN'S BASKETBALL COACH AT BRYANT UNIVERSITY

WATCH PRESS CONFERENCE

From left: Athletic Director Bill Smith, Elizabeth O'Shea, Madeleine O'Shea, Tim O'Shea, President Ronald K. Machtley at Monday's press conference introducing O'Shea as the new head coach of the Bulldogs. (Mark Hodgkin photo)

SMITHFIELD, RI - Bryant University announced today that Tim O'Shea, the seven-year head coach at Ohio University, has been named the new head men's basketball coach.   Formerly an assistant of nearby University of Rhode Island and Boston College, O'Shea was introduced as the Bulldogs' new head coach at a press conference held by Director of Athletics Bill Smith and Bryant University President Ronald K. Machtley in the campus's Chace Athletic & Wellness Center.  O'Shea becomes the seventh Bryant coach in school history and only the third since 1989-90.

O'Shea replaces Max Good, who stepped down after seven seasons to join Bill Bayno's staff at Loyola Marymount University. Good posted a 132-86 overall record at Bryant and led the Bulldogs to five-consecutive NCAA tournaments including a run to the 2005 Division II championship game. 

Tim O'Shea was named head coach at Bryant Monday.

Tim O'Shea led Ohio to wins over North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland during his seven seasons.  The Bobcats won 79 games in the past four seasons.

"This is a tremendous day for Bryant University," said Smith.  "We are thrilled to have a coach that brings a great amount of respect throughout the country to lead our program into Division I.  Tim is an outstanding coach who has enjoyed success everywhere he has been, not only in terms of wins, but in graduating student-athletes.  It's a great day for the Bulldog Family."

In seven seasons at Ohio, O'Shea was the architect of a Bobcat program that made an impact within the MAC and on the national stage. In the last four seasons alone, O'Shea's Bobcats compiled 79 wins, captured a MAC title and were named college basketball's "It" team by ESPN.com.  He was 120-95 during his tenure at Ohio including wins over North Carolina, Virginia and the University of Maryland. Last year, Ohio posted a 20-13 record and reached the second round of the College Basketball Invitational (CBI). 

O'Shea's first season at Ohio was highlighted by victories over DePaul and powerhouse North Carolina in Chapel Hill, NC on national television. In his second season at the helm, O'Shea led the Bobcats to a regular-season victory over Virginia and a spot in the MAC Tournament semifinals after the team posted a 12-6 conference record.

Following the 2002-03 season, standout forward Brandon Hunter became the first Bobcat selected in the NBA draft since 1995 when the Boston Celtics nabbed the Ohio big man in the second round. A year later, O'Shea faced the daunting task of replacing Hunter, leading sixth-man Sonny Johnson and three-point sharpshooter Steve Esterkamp. The 2003-04 Bobcats slipped to a 10-20 record, but bounced back in 2004-05 for their memorable run to the NCAA tournament.

The 2004-05 Bobcats captured significant non-conference victories against San Francisco, Butler and Detroit, and then won 11 of their last 15 contests down the stretch. O'Shea kept the troops on task as they carried that momentum over to a four-game sweep of the competition in the MAC Tournament. The run ended in the first round of the NCAA Tournament against Florida, but the `Cats didn't go down without a fight, as they nearly overcame a 20-point second-half deficit. 

Ohio opened 2005-06 with the moniker of collegiate hoops' "It" team and compiled 19 victories before falling to eventual league champion Kent State in the MAC Tournament semifinals. In the past two seasons the Bobcats have registered impressive victories against Cincinnati, Maryland, Marist, Rhode Island, Samford and St. Joseph's and nearly upset Kentucky and Louisville.   

The 2007-08 season saw Ohio return to the postseason for the first time in two years, as the Bobcats advanced to the second round of the inaugural College Basketball Invitational after earning a victory over Brown in the opening game.

The players O'Shea coached at Ohio have proven to become winners in the classroom, as well. Twenty-four of the 25 student-athletes who have completed their eligibility under O'Shea during their senior seasons have graduated.

His commitment to excellence, on and off the floor, is a product of the lessons he learned at several other Division I institutions. O'Shea's head coaching career began after extensive experience as an assistant in the Ivy League, Atlantic 10 and Big East.

O'Shea began his work on the bench as a graduate assistant at the University of Rhode Island and Boston College. His first full-time appointment came later that year at Yale, where he spent the next two seasons.

The next stop for O'Shea was a spot on Al Skinner's staff at Rhode Island. He spent nine seasons at URI, playing a key role in the Rams earning two NIT and two NCAA Tournament berths. A notable O'Shea recruit during this stint was current NBA star Cuttino Mobely.

In the spring of 1997, O'Shea returned to his alma mater. In four seasons at Boston College, O'Shea helped build the Eagles into the Big East regular-season and tournament champions in 2000-01. One of the players on the Eagles' roster was Bryant assistant men's basketball coach Dwayne Pina. 

BC posted a 27-5 record and earned a No. 3 seed for the NCAA East Regional and finished with a No. 9 ranking in the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) just two years after being ranked 246.

O'Shea was no stranger to success in the BC locker room. After earning All-America accolades at Wayland (Mass.) High School, O'Shea played for some of the most successful squads in Boston College history. The Eagles won two Big East regular-season titles and earned four postseason tournament berths during his career. In his four years, BC advanced twice to the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16 and once to the Elite Eight.

O'Shea earned a bachelor's degree in communications with a minor in English from Boston College in 1984, and then added a master's degree in counseling/psychology from BC two years later.  He and his wife, Elizabeth, have a 10-year-old daughter, Madeleine.

Bryant University, located in Smithfield, RI, will begin its first year of transitioning to Division I starting this fall. At the conclusion of the four-year transition period, Bryant will become an official member of the Northeast Conference.