The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay is hiring Fox Sports radio host and former NCAA point guard Doug Gottlieb as men’s basketball coach. according to multiple reports.
The former college point guard will continue to host his radio show in an unusual arrangement, according to reports. This is Gottlieb’s first major job as a head coach.
Gottlieb has not coached on a college bench, but he has worked as a coach on the AAU circuit and for United States entry to the 2022 World Maccabiah Games.
Gottlieb initially interviewed for Green Bay’s 2023 opener, according to reports. Green Bay eventually hired Sundance Wicks, who left after one season. to accept head coaching position at Wyoming. Green Bay saw a 15-win improvement from 3-29 to 18-14 in Wicks’ only season as head coach. The Horizon League program is looking to return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2016 and second time since 1996.
Gottlieb, 48, played college basketball at Notre Dame for a single season and then transferred to Oklahoma State for three seasons between 1997 and 2000. He left Notre Dame after his freshman year when he was accused of stealing and using credit cards. of three fellow students. He has since admitted to having done it in a first-person essay for The Athletic titled “The Mistakes I Made and the Price I Paid.”
Gottlieb had a successful season at Oklahoma State as a starter for three seasons. He is 11th all time in NCAA career assists.
Since then, Gottlieb has worked in multiple media roles as a basketball analyst and personality for ESPN, CBS Sports, and currently, Fox Sports. He has generated controversy on multiple occasions in those roles, including offering the “white man’s perspective”” on an all-black CBS set with Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley and questioning the credentials of ESPN’s Maria Taylor to vote for All-NBA teams.
Casey Close, former agent of MLB slugger Freddie Freeman, sued Gottlieb for defamation in 2022 after Gottlieb reported that Close did not inform him about an offer from the Atlanta Braves during negotiations that ultimately led to Freeman signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Gottlieb later retracted his report and acknowledged that it was inaccurate.
He currently hosts a nationally syndicated show on Fox Sports Radio and will continue to do so while coaching Green Bay. according to reports.