The UCLA Bruins have found a new head coach for their basketball program after a long search and many failed attempts at hiring different candidates. Cincinnati Bearcats head coach Mick Cronin has accepted the job from the Bruins. The move comes a few months after the team parted ways with head coach Steve Alford.
We’re thrilled to announce that Mick Cronin will become our program’s next head coach.
Welcome to Los Angeles, Coach Cronin! ????
NEWS: https://t.co/wBvFYog3ep pic.twitter.com/fM065dqda0
— UCLA Basketball (@UCLAMBB) April 9, 2019
The deal comes 100 days after the team decided to part ways with Alford. The deal is reportedly worth 24 million dollars over a six-year span. The new UCLA Bruins head coach led the Cincinnati Bearcats to nine straight NCAA appearances.
UCLA Athletic Director Dan Guerrero had high praises for the new Bruins head coach. “Mick Cronin is a fierce competitor, and I’m excited to welcome him to Westwood. Mick has built a fantastic program at Cincinnati, backed by integrity and discipline, and he has instilled an undeniable toughness in his student-athletes. I am confident he will build this program the right way and lead UCLA basketball back to national prominence.”
Per UCLA, Mick Cronin’s deal is for six years and 24 million dollars.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) April 9, 2019
The new Bruins coach is 365-170 at Murray State and Cincinnati to pair with 11 NCAA Tournament appearances. He was also named OVC Coach of the Year in 2006 and AAC Coach of the year in 2014.
The hiring process for UCLA seemed to be one miscalculation after another, but this was one of the better outcomes that were possible for the Bruins and their head coaching vacancy. UCLA’s basketball program is going to need a complete rebuild to return to its glory days in the PAC-12.
