UT extends Cullop’s pact to 2021-22 season

4/9/2013

Despite speculation that she could be a candidate for jobs at bigger schools, Tricia Cullop has decided to continue as the University of Toledo women’s basketball coach.

Cullop and the university have agreed to a contract extension through the 2021-22 campaign, Mike O’Brien, UT vice president and athletic director, said in a statement on Monday.

“Tricia has definitely established herself as one of the finest women’s basketball coaches in the nation, and we look forward to having her coach the Rockets for years to come,” O’Brien said.

Financial terms of the deal were not released.

Cullop, who owns a 125-44 record in five seasons at UT, guided the Rockets to a 29-4 record this past season. The Rockets advanced to the third round of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament before falling to Illinois on March 28.

“It’s a privilege to work with such talented and caring people at Toledo,” said Cullop, whose Rockets won the 2011 WNIT championship to become the first Mid-American Conference basketball program to capture a national postseason tournament. “I’m extremely grateful to President [Dr. Lloyd] Jacobs, Mike O’Brien, and [senior woman’s administrator] Kelly Andrews for this extension and the opportunity to continue to lead our women’s basketball program.”

This past season, Toledo captured its second MAC regular-season title in the last three years and secured a berth in the WNIT for a fourth consecutive season.

UT’s 29 wins tied for the most in school history and second most in the MAC record books. Toledo also cracked the Associated Press top 25 for the first time in more than a decade.