Thompson out as Ball State basketball coach
Coach turns in his resignation after 9-22 season, NCAA violations
By DOUG ZALESKI
dzaleski@muncie.gannett.com
32 Comments
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MUNCIE -- Ball State today will start searching for a new basketball coach barely 15 months after it trumpeted the arrival of Ronny Thompson, a son in the legendary Thompson coaching family, to guide the program.
Embroiled in controversy over two similar sets of NCAA rules violations in the past 12 months and the target of racist notes delivered after hours to his office, Thompson on Thursday submitted his resignation as Ball State's 17th coach. <TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=ad align=middle>
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<LINK href="http://www.thestarpress.com/includes/css/sp_styles_v1.1.css" type=text/css rel=STYLESHEET> <TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=1 width=120 bgColor=#ffffff border=3><TBODY><TR><TD align=middle><TABLE><TBODY><TR><TD class=gcitopjobs align=middle>
<HR color=#000066 noShade SIZE=1></TD></TR><TR><TD>Laboratory Applications Specialist
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<HR color=#000066 noShade SIZE=1></TD></TR><TR><TD class=gcitopjobs>All Top Jobs</TD></TR><TR><TD><CENTER>About Top Jobs</CENTER></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD><TD width=10></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>"It's disappointing," Ball State athletic director Tom Collins said. "We worked very hard with Ronny. I wanted this to work. Again, disappointment is the only thing that comes to mind."
Thompson did not return a phone message left by The Star Press for comment.
Thompson's short tenure was marked by lowlights. The Cardinals were 9-22 last winter in his only season on the bench, breaking a school record for losses in a season.
Ball State reported violations of NCAA rules by Thompson and his staff last summer. The coaches observed voluntary offseason open-gym sessions and weightlifting workouts by players, a secondary infraction of NCAA rules.
Thompson and his staff violated the same rules less than two months ago, and the school again self-reported the infractions to the NCAA. The school's report indicated several coaches lied about their involvement.
Two weeks after The Star Press reported those violations, Thompson found racially harassing notes under his office door and those of his assistants.
The computer-generated notes listed the words "n--ger," "cheaters," and "liars."
Ball State spokesman Tony Proudfoot said he couldn't comment on whether the school and Thompson reached an agreement on a buyout amount in exchange for the resignation. Thompson was earning $182,000 in the second year of his five-year contract.
Collins was thrilled in April 2006 when he announced Thompson's hiring during a press conference. Thompson is a son of Hall of Fame member John Thompson, who coached Georgetown for 27 seasons. Another son, John Thompson III, is the current Hoyas coach.
"I spoke to well over 100 athletic directors, conference commissioners and basketball coaches in the last several weeks," Collins said at the time. "The one name that continued to come up in all my conversations was Ronny Thompson.
"We're looking forward to great things from Ronny in the future, and I can't wait to get started working with Ronny on a daily basis."
Instead, the Cardinals finished as the No. 9 seed for the 12-team Mid-American Conference Tournament with a 5-11 league record.
Thompson also was criticized by fans of the program for being less than welcoming to them, and for what they perceived was his lack of interest in recruiting players from Indiana. Thompson signed six players last year and eight this year, and none was from Indiana.
Collins said he never considered firing the coach despite the rules violations that resulted in Thompson being sent to an NCAA rules seminar in Miami last month. A clause in Thompson's contract indicated he could be fired for adequate cause for "a significant or repetitive violation" of NCAA rules.
"My job was to support him and get him through that," Collins said. "We wanted to make this thing work, and I put all my efforts into making it work."
Instead, Collins will spend the immediate future looking for a new coach to head the program. He said he wanted to move quickly but without haste.
"The first thing we have to do is make sure the current student-athletes are taken care of, and get through summer school," Collins said. "Then we have to focus on looking externally at the job. We'll post the job, and go through those normal things." Collins said it was too early to address the status of current assistant coaches Steve Flint, Troy Collier, Bill Howze and Jay Newberry. Ball State has scheduled a press conference at 1 p.m. today to discuss Thompson's resignation.
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Coach turns in his resignation after 9-22 season, NCAA violations
By DOUG ZALESKI
dzaleski@muncie.gannett.com
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top><!-- ARTICLE BODYTEXT --><!--ARTICLE TEXT-->
MUNCIE -- Ball State today will start searching for a new basketball coach barely 15 months after it trumpeted the arrival of Ronny Thompson, a son in the legendary Thompson coaching family, to guide the program.
Embroiled in controversy over two similar sets of NCAA rules violations in the past 12 months and the target of racist notes delivered after hours to his office, Thompson on Thursday submitted his resignation as Ball State's 17th coach. <TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=ad align=middle>
<SCRIPT language=JavaScript> OAS_AD('ArticleFlex_1'); </SCRIPT><STYLE>.gcitopjobs {font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; font-weight: bold; color: #000000; text-transform: none; text-decoration: none}.gcitopjobs a:link {font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; font-weight: bold; color: #003399; text-transform: none; text-decoration: none}.gcitopjobs a:visited {font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; font-weight: bold; color: #000000; text-transform: none; text-decoration: none}.gcitopjobs a:active {font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; font-weight: bold; color: #000000; text-transform: none; text-decoration: none}.gcitopjobs a:hover {font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; font-weight: bold; color: #4A4D9E; text-transform: none; text-decoration: none}</STYLE><SCRIPT language=JavaScript>var topjobs_count = "6";var topjobs_option = "1";var topjobs_tablewidth = "120";var topjobs_tableborder = "3";var topjobs_tablecellspacing = "";var topjobs_tablecellpadding = "";var topjobs_tablebgcolor = "ffffff";</SCRIPT><SCRIPT language=JavaScript src="http://thestarpress.gannettonline.com/topjobs/teaser/TSM-teaser-v1.js"></SCRIPT>
<HR color=#000066 noShade SIZE=1></TD></TR><TR><TD>Laboratory Applications Specialist<HR color=#000066 noShade SIZE=1></TD></TR><TR><TD>WELDER/FABRICATOR
<HR color=#000066 noShade SIZE=1></TD></TR><TR><TD>RNs/LPNs
<HR color=#000066 noShade SIZE=1></TD></TR><TR><TD>LPN & CNAs
<HR color=#000066 noShade SIZE=1></TD></TR><TR><TD>Retoucher; Shipping; Data Entry; Entry level workers
<HR color=#000066 noShade SIZE=1></TD></TR><TR><TD>Garage Manager & Truck Mechanic
<HR color=#000066 noShade SIZE=1></TD></TR><TR><TD class=gcitopjobs>All Top Jobs</TD></TR><TR><TD><CENTER>About Top Jobs</CENTER></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD><TD width=10></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>"It's disappointing," Ball State athletic director Tom Collins said. "We worked very hard with Ronny. I wanted this to work. Again, disappointment is the only thing that comes to mind."
Thompson did not return a phone message left by The Star Press for comment.
Thompson's short tenure was marked by lowlights. The Cardinals were 9-22 last winter in his only season on the bench, breaking a school record for losses in a season.
Ball State reported violations of NCAA rules by Thompson and his staff last summer. The coaches observed voluntary offseason open-gym sessions and weightlifting workouts by players, a secondary infraction of NCAA rules.
Thompson and his staff violated the same rules less than two months ago, and the school again self-reported the infractions to the NCAA. The school's report indicated several coaches lied about their involvement.
Two weeks after The Star Press reported those violations, Thompson found racially harassing notes under his office door and those of his assistants.
The computer-generated notes listed the words "n--ger," "cheaters," and "liars."
Ball State spokesman Tony Proudfoot said he couldn't comment on whether the school and Thompson reached an agreement on a buyout amount in exchange for the resignation. Thompson was earning $182,000 in the second year of his five-year contract.
Collins was thrilled in April 2006 when he announced Thompson's hiring during a press conference. Thompson is a son of Hall of Fame member John Thompson, who coached Georgetown for 27 seasons. Another son, John Thompson III, is the current Hoyas coach.
"I spoke to well over 100 athletic directors, conference commissioners and basketball coaches in the last several weeks," Collins said at the time. "The one name that continued to come up in all my conversations was Ronny Thompson.
"We're looking forward to great things from Ronny in the future, and I can't wait to get started working with Ronny on a daily basis."
Instead, the Cardinals finished as the No. 9 seed for the 12-team Mid-American Conference Tournament with a 5-11 league record.
Thompson also was criticized by fans of the program for being less than welcoming to them, and for what they perceived was his lack of interest in recruiting players from Indiana. Thompson signed six players last year and eight this year, and none was from Indiana.
Collins said he never considered firing the coach despite the rules violations that resulted in Thompson being sent to an NCAA rules seminar in Miami last month. A clause in Thompson's contract indicated he could be fired for adequate cause for "a significant or repetitive violation" of NCAA rules.
"My job was to support him and get him through that," Collins said. "We wanted to make this thing work, and I put all my efforts into making it work."
Instead, Collins will spend the immediate future looking for a new coach to head the program. He said he wanted to move quickly but without haste.
"The first thing we have to do is make sure the current student-athletes are taken care of, and get through summer school," Collins said. "Then we have to focus on looking externally at the job. We'll post the job, and go through those normal things." Collins said it was too early to address the status of current assistant coaches Steve Flint, Troy Collier, Bill Howze and Jay Newberry. Ball State has scheduled a press conference at 1 p.m. today to discuss Thompson's resignation.
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