www.daytondailynews.com/dayton-sports/wright-state-university-raiders/in-just-seven-days-clemson-coaching-search-ends-brownell-era-at-wright-state-658839.html?showComments=true&page=2&more_comments=false&viewAsSinglePage=trueIn just seven days, Clemson coaching search ends Brownell era at Wright State
After four years at WSU, Brownell more than doubles salary to coach Tigers.
By Kyle Nagel, Staff Writer
It began with a phone call on Wednesday, April 7.
Bill Carr of Carr Sports Associates Inc., a search and management consulting firm for college athletic departments, called Wright State men’s basketball coach Brad Brownell to gauge his interest in the same job at Clemson.
Clemson was working to replace Oliver Purnell, the former University of Dayton coach who left the Tigers for DePaul on April 6. Brownell’s name was near the top of Carr’s and Clemson’s lists of potential candidates.
“I called (WSU Athletic Director) Bob Grant,” Brownell said. “Bob gave me permission to meet with those guys.”
A day later, Brownell was meeting with Clemson Athletic Director Terry Don Phillips and senior associate AD Bill D’Andrea at a hotel in Charlotte, N.C.
That meeting was part of a seven-day period during which Brownell was first contacted and eventually introduced as Clemson’s new basketball coach. Brownell detailed the search, his decision to leave and WSU’s future prospects during an interview on Friday while still in Clemson, S.C., where he had stayed since boarding a private plane Tuesday morning.
Brownell, 41, who led Wright State to an 84-45 record in four seasons, said he turned down multiple job offers and overtures in his time at WSU but found a unique fit at Clemson.
His new job will pay $900,000 per year during his six-year contract, which is more than double his $365,000 salary at Wright State. Brownell had four years remaining on his WSU contract.
Wright State quickly promoted 33-year-old Billy Donlon, who had been Brownell’s top assistant for eight seasons at North Carolina-Wilmington and Wright State, on Wednesday. That ended a wild period for a program that hopes to continue its unprecedented Division I-era basketball success under Donlon.
“What Coach Brownell did was he immediately came in and changed the culture,” Donlon said. “It was, ‘Let’s win a championship immediately,’ and he was more than believable. Everybody bought into it.”
The process
Clemson’s top two athletic administrators began buying into Brownell’s vision during the meeting at a Charlotte hotel on Thursday, April 8.
“It’s like two and a half or three hours,” Brownell said. “They’re asking everything you can think of. ‘Why do you think you’d be a good fit? Tell us about you. How would your teams play? What would your recruiting philosophy be? Where do you see Clemson basketball moving in the future?’ ”
Brownell knew Clemson was talking with at least six other potential candidates, but he felt good about his interview. Meanwhile, he went about his business at Wright State, hosting recruits, meeting candidates for the Raiders’ open women’s basketball position and making his recruiting calendar.
On Sunday, April 11, Clemson’s D’Andrea called Brownell. He asked to meet again.
Brownell drove to the Richmond (Ind.) Municipal Airport on Monday to meet with Phillips, D’Andrea and Larry LaForge, a Clemson management professor and the school’s faculty athletics representative.
That night, Brownell received a call from Clemson President James Barker, who was on speaker phone with Phillips and D’Andrea in the room. They offered Brownell the job, and he accepted.
Taking the job
One of the things that drew Brownell to Wright State was proximity to his family. Brownell’s parents live in Evansville, Ind., where he grew up and attended Harrison High School before playing at DePauw University in Greencastle, Ind.
“My parents were at every home game for four years,” Brownell said. “My 90-year-old grandmother who lives in a small town just outside of Cincinnati came to six or eight home games per year. She’ll probably even keep her season tickets.”
But Brownell also spent 12 years, from 1994-2006, at UNC-Wilmington, where daughters Abby, 11, and Kaitlyn, 9, were born. The parents of his wife, Paula, live in Wilmington, N.C. So the family maintained a strong connection to the area after leaving for Wright State.
“I spent a quarter of my life there,” Brownell said of the region. “I knew with jobs that I would want to be probably somewhere in the Big Ten, or that area I was comfortable with, or right here in the ACC. There were jobs for more money, jobs in different parts of the country, one BCS job, all kinds you can imagine. But this was a good fit.”
Brownell inherits a program that went 21-11 last season and was 138-90 in seven seasons under Purnell, although just 50-62 in the rugged Atlantic Coast Conference.
Brownell underscored the job’s location — close to his wife’s parents and near where the family spent so many years — as a determining factor.
“I guess we keep flip-flopping the grandparents,” Brownell said.
Leaving the program
When Brownell arrived in 2006, WSU hadn’t had a winning season in the previous four, going 52-62 in that stretch. He replaced Paul Biancardi, who was 42-44 in three seasons.
In his first season, with a team consisting of players recruited by three different head coaches and key seniors DaShaun Wood and Drew Burleson, Brownell led Wright State to a 23-10 record, the Horizon League tournament championship and the school’s second NCAA Division I tournament appearance.
After four seasons, Wright State had won at least 20 games in each, a first for the program since moving to D-I in 1987. In 19 previous seasons, the program had won 20 games twice.
“When we took over at UNC-Wilmington, the program was in good shape,” Brownell said. “I had been an assistant, and we continued to do well, and I’m proud of that. But then it was, ‘OK, now let’s go to Wright State and try to build something.’
“It was a great challenge, and it was really fun. It was doing something different. We took a chance, and we made it work.”
Passing the torch
After Brownell accepted the Clemson job Monday night, he first called Grant. Then he sent a text message to Donlon asking him to come to his home.
The two have known each other since Donlon left Glenbrook North High School in Northbrook, Ill., in 1995 to be a point guard for UNC-Wilmington. He was Brownell’s first hire as assistant coach when Brownell was promoted to head coach at Wilmington in 2002.
Brownell told Donlon the WSU job was all but his.
“We made a little drink, had a little toast, and I said, ‘Call your dad, I wanna be here when you tell him,’ ” Brownell said.
The next morning, Brownell met with the returning Wright State players and hopped on a private plane bound for Clemson, where he met with the media on Tuesday afternoon. He has since run through practice drills with the Clemson players, set about hiring a staff, made recruiting plans and even attended his first Prowl and Growl meet-and-greet event in Greenville, S.C.
Donlon inherits a program with a deep family basketball pedigree and a determined work ethic.
“I remember at an early age when I said, ‘Eh, I’m not sure if I wanna do this basketball thing,’ and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to play any other sport,” Donlon said. “My mom and dad said, ‘Well, you’re gonna get a job.’ So I got a job driving an ice cream truck ... I mean, an ice cream bike, had the big freezer on the front driving around in the summers. I was in seventh or eighth grade.
“So I’m driving around, and it’s hot, riding around, sweating, trying to make money. I said, ‘Hey, being in the gym is a lot more fun, trying to become a good player is a lot more fun.’ ”
Brownell said Donlon’s commitment makes him a strong choice to be Wright State’s eighth head coach.
“He’s very bright, really competitive, and he just has a really good mind for the game,” Brownell said. “He’s had his hand in a little bit of everything, so I’m excited to see what happens.”
================
Wednesday, April 7: Wright State coach Brad Brownell receives a call from a search firm regarding the Clemson job.
Thursday, April 8: Brownell meets with Clemson athletic director and associate AD at a hotel in Charlotte, N.C.
Sunday, April 11: Brownell receives a call asking him to interview for a second time as the process heats up.
Monday, April 12: Brownell drives to the Richmond (Ind.) Municipal Airport to again meet with Clemson officials.
Monday night, April 12: Brownell receives and accepts the job offer during a conference call with the Clemson president.
Tuesday, April 13: Brownell is officially introduced to the media as Clemson’s new coach during a news conference.
Wednesday, April 14: Wright State names top Brownell assistant Billy Donlon as the program’s eighth head coach.