Chargers to Hire Tharp as New Basketball Coach
|Chargerblue.com has learned that Lawrence University (Wisc.)’s John Tharp will be named the new men’s basketball coach at Hillsdale College. For the second time in a row, athletic director Mike Kovalcik has nabbed a coach from the Division III ranks with a long history of success.
Tharp has spent the last 14 seasons as head coach at Lawrence and developed one of the elite D3 programs in the country.
Midwest Conference Champions – 1997, 2004, 2005, 2006
NCAA Division III National Tournament – 1997, 2004, 2005, 2006
NCAA Division III Elite 8 – 2004
NCAA Division III Sweet 16 – 2004, 2006
2005-2006 season highlights:
25-1 Record – Best record in the country
Perfect 16-0 Midwest Conference season
3rd Consecutive Midwest Conference Title
3rd Consecutive Midwest Conference Tournament Champion
NCAA Division III National Tournament Sweet 16 (2nd time in 3 years)
.852 Winning % over last 3 years – Best of any Division III team in the nation
His 2005-2006 squad finished 25-1 and spent a month ranked number one in the nation.
Read his complete bio at The Lawrence Men’s Basketball Webpage.
This single quote from his Lawrence bio states why he should be a good fit for Hillsdale: “When I came to Lawrence, there was an aura that you couldn’t win here, you couldn’t mix academics and athletics,” Tharp said. “We eliminated that thought process immediately.”