Men's Basketball Southern Conference

UTC's Sloan Making Plans For New Basketball Coach

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.---University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Director of
Athletics Steve Sloan addressed the media and the public Thursday on the
issue of the UTC men's basketball program.

Head coach Jeff Lebo accepted the head coaching position at Auburn
University Thursday morning. Sloan said a committee would be formed with
the intention that a replacement will be hired as soon as possible. He
also said that Lebos assistant coach, John Shulman, will serve as interim
head coach and will also be considered for the position.

We are sorry to lose Jeff Lebo,Sloan said. We wish him the very best. He
and his staff did a wonderful job here. They put an emphasis on academics
and brought successful players to the program. We are appreciative of what
they did. They used a creative system. We are not interested in losing
that creativity.

We will do what is best for our program. The committee will give the
athletics director three names. We will make a decision from that with the
approval of the Chancellor. We will hustle as best as we can.

Laura Mincy, UTC assistant athletics director for compliance and senior
woman administrator, will head the search committee, which will consist of
both University and non-University personnel.

Lebo was hired on April 5, 2002. He led the Mocs to a 21-9 record in his
first season in 2002-03 and a 19-11 mark this past season. He guided UTC
to the championship game of the Southern Conference Tournament both years,
and the Mocs fell to East Tennessee State each time. He compiled a
two-year record of 40-20.

"I am appreciative of both the University and athletics administration at
UTC during my time here,Lebo said. I am also thankful to the fans for
their support of our program. I wish UTC and the men's basketball program
nothing but success in the future."


TRANSCRIPT FROM STEVE SLOAN, April 8, 2004

We are sorry to lose Jeff Lebo. We wish him the very best. He and his
staff did a wonderful job here. They put an emphasis on academics and
brought in successful players to the program. We are appreciative of what
they did. They used a creative system. We are not interested in losing
that creativity.

(Assistant coach) John Shulman will serve as interim head coach. We will
begin our search. John Shulman will also be a candidate for this
position. He has strong qualities as a person, is knowledgeable about the
system and is an excellent recruiter.

We will form a search committee. Laura Mincy, our assistant athletics
director for compliance, will chair the search. We are in a
time-compression phase. The spring signing date is April 14, and we will
have a time-compression problem.

UTC has a great history in basketball, and we have a great tradition. We
certainly dont plan to go backwards with our program.

We will do what is best for our program. The committee will give the
athletics director three names. We will make a decision from that with the
approval of the Chancellor. We will hustle as best as we can.

One of our early recruits (Ryan Daniel) did not sign his National Letter of
Intent. He could go to Auburn if Jeff wants him there. Our other signee
(Kenny Hunt) did sign his. We could be recruiting against Jeff (Lebo) for
Ryan.

We will work as fast as possible. We will do what we can for the program
and for our players. We like the emphasis where it is at right now.

(Does he have a coaching list available) I always keep a list. This
particular job is not like a normal mid-major job, and that goes back to
the history and tradition of the program. Much like (Head Womens Coach)
Wes Moore has done with our womens program. These coaches are interested
in winning, and that is what attracts them to our program. The money is
always a big thing, but they want to coach at a school where they can win.

Jeff Lebo has done so well over the years. We knew there would be many
schools with interest in him. I think at this time it is better for him
(to take a job like the Auburn job) and likely better for us, at this
time. We are looking at more of a long-term deal. We will look for
someone who is going to commit to us.

It will not be a problem to get a good coach here. It is difficult to get
good players. Jeff Lebo left us with good players and left us in good shape.

When a great job like this comes open, youll have every young coach wanting
the job. They want to come here because we can win here. And every older
coach who is out of a job will want the job because you can win here.