UWGB to name Fox Sports radio host and analyst Doug Gottlieb as new men's basketball coach
GREEN BAY – The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay men’s basketball team is expected to hire Fox Sports radio host and basketball analyst Doug Gottlieb as its new coach, one year after he was among the final five candidates for an opening that went to Sundance Wicks.
UWGB athletic director Josh Moon expected a quick hiring process after Wicks was named the head coach at Wyoming on Sunday.
Gottlieb will keep doing his radio show during the week while coaching at UWGB, providing a rather unusual dynamic but one that will give the program some national exposure.
He signed a five-year contract with UWGB, although he won't be making the annual salaries Wicks was in line to make each of the next five years. Wicks was set to earn $300,000 next season and receive a $25,000 raise each season through 2028-29.
"I’d say in today’s college basketball world, especially at a mid-major institution like ours, we have to be outside the box," Moon said. "Sunny did an amazing job providing this program and now Doug, his challenge is to continue that road. We went way down the road with Doug last year and felt comfortable at that point with where he is at and the whole transition of being a college coach."
Gottlieb doesn’t have much coaching experience, although he was part of a staff that coached the U.S. team at the Maccabiah Games in 2009 and 2017.
UWGB was impressed with him during his initial interview last year, so much so that he survived longer than some established head coaches and assistant coaches.
More: What to know about Doug Gottlieb, national radio host and new UWGB men's basketball coach
The Milwaukee native is among the all-time assist leaders in NCAA history during a career that started at the University of Notre Dame. He spent just one season at the school before a well-known incident in which he stole credit cards from fellow students, something he wrote about at length in an essay for The Athletic in 2018.
He eventually ended up at Oklahoma State, where he was a strong player for three seasons from 1997 to 2000 and still holds several school records.
Gottlieb interviewed at OSU twice when the job opened in the past and was considered a legitimate contender both times.
His late father, Bob, was the coach at UW-Milwaukee for five seasons from 1975 to 1980.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: UWGB to name Doug Gottlieb as its new men's basketball coach
