SAVANNAH, Ga. -- Savannah State, coming off an 0-28 season
that made it the second winless NCAA Division I team in the last
half-century, hired Horace Broadnax as its new coach on Friday.
Broadnax, a former head coach at Bethune-Cookman, was currently
practicing law and will begin his duties on Monday, Savannah State
athletic director Tony O'Neal said.
"I am extremely humbled and grateful for the opportunity to
return to coaching," Broadnax said. "The timing was right for
me."
Broadnax, the point guard on Georgetown's 1984 NCAA championship
team, coached at Bethune-Cookman from 1997-02, when he stepped down
to pursue his law career. He was named the Mid-Eastern Athletic
Conference coach of the year in his second season, leading a team
that finished 1-26 his first year to one that posted a 10-9
conference record his second.
Broadnax also coached at Valencia Community College in Orlando,
Fla., for two years, posting the school's first 20-victory season
in 1996-97.
He also held assistant coaching positions at Bethune-Cookman and
Florida A&M.
"Broadnax has a deep passion for coaching student-athletes and
has demonstrated twice in his career that he can revitalize
challenged basketball programs," O'Neal said.
Broadnax has been a partner at an Orlando law firm since 1998.
With a 49-44 loss to Florida A&M in their final game last
season, the Tigers joined Prairie View, which went 0-28 in 1991-92,
as the only Division I teams to endure a winless season since The
Citadel in 1954-55.
Southern Mississippi went 0-24 in 1971-72, but that was during
one of three seasons it had been stripped of Division I status
because the NCAA objected to its weak schedule.