Despite the dreary day Saturday, John Shulman had plans to spend time with his family in Chattanooga and not friends in Texas.
A big breakfast, the circus and baseball practice were all on the agenda for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga basketball coach who interviewed for the same position at Texas Christian University.
Shulman said he visited the Lone Star State for only one reason, and that was because longtime friend and mentor Danny Morrison invited him.
The TCU athletic director and Shulman have known each other for more than 20 years, and Morrison gave the green light to Shulman for his first college coaching position at Wofford.
“Danny was the draw for me,” Shulman said. “It wasn’t TCU, it wasn’t leaving Chattanooga, it wasn’t Dallas.”
Shulman reiterated his love for the Scenic City, its university and his desire to turn the basketball program into one of the nation’s elite.
“I would love to be here at Chattanooga long enough to develop the program we want,” he said. “I would love to develop a plan where we don’t panic with an average season and develop a plan so we can be on top every year. That’s a goal of mine.”
TCU announced the hiring of former Kent State coach Jim Christian on Saturday. Others included in the search to various degrees were Oral Roberts coach Scott Sutton and former Tennessee coach Buzz Peterson.
Shulman said he and UTC athletic director Rick Hart recently had discussions about Shulman’s contract, which runs through the 2010-11 season.
“We’ll talk about that another day, hopefully another day before June,” Shulman said. “Give me until 2020 or 2030 and I’ll be happy. I didn’t get into this for money. I love what I’m doing, I love where I am and I’d like to do it for a long time here.”
Hart also had plans to spend Saturday with his family and could not be reached for comment.
“Did I want the job? Did I not not want the job? It never got to that point,” Shulman said. “I think I was probably in the last two, but I don’t know that.
“Amy and I probably would have gone down there and taken a look, but that doesn’t mean we would have bit.”
David Uchiyama is a sports writer at the Chattanooga Times Free Press who began his tenure here in May 2001. His primary beats are UTC athletics — specifically men’s basketball and athletic department administration — and golf, which includes coverage from the PGA Tour to youth events. He also covers other high school sports, outdoor adventures, and contributes to other sections of the newspaper when necessary. David grew up in Salinas, Calif., and began working ...
