Ollie, replacing Calhoun, highlights coaching changes

• Kevin Ollie is one of 50 new head coaches this season at schools across the country
• UConn is banned from the Big East and NCAA tournaments this season because of low APR scores
• Ollie says he's up to the challenge of coaching without a long term deal

Connecticut has won three men's national championships since 1999. The Huskies aren't leaving for another conference, at least not yet, but they won't be cutting down any nets this spring. They will, however, have to get used to a new boss on the bench.

UConn has been banned from the NCAA tournament this season because of subpar Academic Progress Rate scores. Connecticut became the first team from one of the six major conferences to face a postseason ban in men's basketball or football because of its APR scores.

The Huskies fell below the mandated cut line of 900 on their rolling four-year scores. The APR measures the classroom performance of every Division I team and whether teams can retain academically eligible players from year to year. The data for this year calculated rates from 2007-08 through 2010-11.

The offcourt upheaval for the Huskies continued in September when Hall of Fame coach Jim Calhoun announced his retirement after 26 years at the school and the three national titles.

Calhoun will be replaced by former assistant Kevin Ollie, an ex-UConn player, who got a one-year contract.

Calhoun, 70, broke his hip in a bicycle crash in August and had surgery, the latest in a series of health issues that the coach faced in his last few years with the Huskies. Calhoun broke several ribs in another bike accident during a charity ride in 2009. He also has battled skin cancer and prostate cancer and missed eight games last season because of back problems. He had a 40-year head coaching career overall, including a stint at Northeastern, and had 873 career wins, sixth most among Division I men's coaches.

Calhoun will take a transition appointment through next spring as a special assistant to athletics director Warde Manuel, and the school will name him head coach emeritus when he is fully retired.

George Blaney, who has served as Calhoun's top assistant for the last 11 seasons, says he plans to stay on as associate head coach. Blaney had been acting head coach in Calhoun's absence on several occasions.

Meanwhile, Ollie, despite the lack of a long-term deal, says he's up to the challenge.

"I'm used to it," he says. "My first six years in the NBA, I didn't have a guaranteed contract. This is easy. This is exactly where I want to be."

Ollie takes over a team that returns five players who saw significant playing time last season.

But returning guard Ryan Boatright says the team didn't want to play for anyone other than Ollie, and Boatright says the players will take it upon themselves to make sure the new coach gets to keep the job beyond this season.

Big East presidents decided last spring that teams that are not eligible for NCAA tournaments will be unable to participate in conference tournaments. It's possible that UConn could appeal. But with West Virginia gone to the Big 12, the league would have a 14-team tournament without UConn.

The Big East would hold two games, instead of four, on the first day in New York. The 11th-seeded team would play the No.14 seed and 12 would meet 13. The two winners would join seeds 5-10 the next day in the second round.

New Faces (asterisk indicates interim)

• Air Force new coach: Dave Pilipovich; old coach: Jeff Reynolds
• Binghampton new coach: Tommy Dempsey; old coach: Mark Macon
• Brown new coach: Mike Martin; old coach: Jesse Agel
• Cal State-Fullerton new coach: Andy Newman;* old coach: Bob Burton
• Canisius new coach: Jim Baron; old coach: Tom Parrotta
• Central Michigan new coach: Keno Davis; old coach: Ernie Zeigler
• Charleston new coach: Doug Wojcik; old coach: Bobby Cremins
• Colorado State new coach: Larry Eustachy; old coach: Tim Miles
• Connecticut new coach: Kevin Ollie; old coach: Jim Calhoun
• Duquesne new coach: Jim Ferry; old coach: Ron Everhart
• Eastern Illinois new coach: Jay Spoonhour; old coach: Mike Miller
• Florida International new coach: Richard Pitino; old coach: Isiah Thomas
• Grambling new coach: Joseph Price; old coach: Bobby Washington
• Idaho State new coach: Bill Evans; old coach: Joe O'Brien
• Illinois new coach: John Groce; old coach: Bruce Weber
• Illinois State new coach: Dan Muller; old coach: Tim Jankovich
• Kansas State new coach: Bruce Weber; old coach: Frank Martin
• LIU-Brooklyn new coach: Jack Perri; old coach: Jim Ferry
• LSU new coach: Johnny Jones; old coach: Trent Johnson
• Miami (Ohio) new coach: John Cooper; old coach: Charlie Coles
• Mississippi State new coach: Rick Ray; old coach: Ricky Stansbury
• Mississippi Valley State new coach: Chico Potts; old coach: Sean Woods
• Morehead State new coach: Sean Woods; old coach: Donnie Tyndall
• Mount St. Mary's new coach: Jamion Christian; old coach: Robert Burke
• Nebraska new coach: Tim Miles; old coach: Doc Sadler
• North Carolina A&T new coach: Cy Alexander; old coach: Jerry Eaves
• North Texas new coach: Tony Benford; old coach: Johnny Jones
• Northern Arizona new coach: Jack Murphy; old coach: Mike Adras
• Ohio new coach: Jim Christian; old coach: John Groce
• Rhode Island new coach: Dan Hurley; old coach: Jim baron
• Rider new coach: Kevin Baggett; old coach: Tommy Dempsey
• St. Francis (Pa.) new coach: Rob Krimmel; old coach: Don Friday
• Saint Louis new coach: Jim Crews;* old coach: Rick Majerus (medical leave)
• Samford new coach: Bennie Seltzer; old coach: Jimmy Tillette
• SMU new coach: Larry Brown, old coach: Matt Doherty
• South Carolina new coach: Frank Martin; old coach: Darrin Horn
• Southern Illinois new coach: Barry Hinson; old coach: Chris Lowery
• Southern Mississippi new coach: Donnie Tyndall; old coach: Larry Eustachy
• Southern Utah new coach: Nick Robinson; old coach: Roger Reid
• TCU new coach: Trent Johnson; old coach: Jim Christian
• Tennessee State new coach: Travis Williams; old coach: John Cooper
• Texas Southern new coach: Mike Davis;* old coach: Tony Harvey
• Texas Tech new coach: Chris Walker;* old coach: Billy Gillispie
• Tulsa new coach: Danny Manning; old coach: Doug Wojcik
• Alabama-Birmingham new coach: Jerod Haase; old coach: Mike Davis
• UNC-Greensboro new coach: Wes Miller; old coach: Mike Dement
• Virginia Tech new coach: James Johnson; old coach: Seth Greenberg
• Wagner old coach: Bashir Mason; new coach: Dan Hurley
• Western Kentucky new coach: Ray Harper; old coach: Ken McDonald
• Winthrop new coach: Pat Kelsey; old coach: Randy Peele