After not having any shoes to fill, Tim Sullivan has some pretty big shoes to fill.
The former Cooper boys’ basketball coach was named the new St. Henry boys’ basketball coach on Wednesday. He replaces Dave Faust, who stepped down from the position last month.
“I am blessed to be given the opportunity to take over a program that my great friend and mentor, Dave Faust, has built over the last 33 years. My staff and I are grateful for the trust shown by the administration to lead the program into the future,” Sullivan said in a press release sent out by St. Henry District. “We are looking forward to continuing the tradition of excellence and building young men of character, integrity, tenacity and toughness. My family and I are extremely excited to become part of THE CRU.”
Sullivan had been with Cooper since the school’s opening in 2008, winning 298 games. He guided the Jaguars to two state tournament runs in 2017 and this past season. In 2017, they drove all the way to the state championship game and finished runner-up to Bowling Green. This past season, they reached the quarterfinals before falling to eventual state champion Great Crossing.
“I don’t know how many people thought we were going to be in this situation at the end, at this time of year for these kids, but what they did this year is, we talk about leaving a legacy, and the legacy they left is bigger than a state quarterfinal Sweet 16,” Sullivan said after the Jaguars loss to Great Crossing on March 28. They learned how to be men. They learned how to grow up and make decisions for themselves and stand up for what they believe in.”
On top of the two region titles, the program has won nine district titles in the competitive 33rd District.
Prior to Cooper’s run to Rupp, the headlines weren’t so much surrounding the team’s success, more so about the head coach’s future.
On March 3, Sullivan’s wife, Andrea, announced on Facebook that in a meeting in January with Principal Mike Wilson, his coaching contract would not be renewed for the next season. According to her post, Sullivan was given a choice: resign or face non-renewal.
Furthermore, the post alleges that Sullivan was facing non-renewal due to his lack of “urgency to improve the culture of the program.”
The team rallied around their head coach, as did the community. During the region tournament, the team wore “Free Sully” shooting shirts that were available to fans as well, plenty seen around Truist Arena during the region tournament when they took down Highlands, Covington Catholic and Lloyd Memorial to claim the title. An online petition had over 3,000 signatures to keep Sullivan at Cooper.
When Cooper defeated Boone County in the 33rd District tournament on Feb. 26, it was Sullivan’s 300th career victory, having won seven games when he was the head coach at St. Patrick in Maysville from 2004-05.
Sullivan has also held assistant positions at Mason County and Holmes.
On April 30, Sullivan was informed by Principal Mike Wilson and Athletic Director Randy Borchers that his coaching contract would be non-renewed. Boone County Superintendent Jeff Hauswald upheld the decision. Sullivan appealed the decision and had a hearing on May 12.
Cooper hasn’t addressed the issue with the media and refrained from comment when reached out about it after multiple attempts. The Jaguars will now have a head coach opening for the boys’ program, but nothing has been posted on the KHSAA open jobs site or the Boone County schools website.
Now Sullivan lands at St. Henry, a program that has certainly established themselves over the years, but struggled as of late with just one trip to the region tournament since 2022. The Crusaders have won 10 All “A” titles in the Ninth Region and three All “A” state titles along with a Ninth Region title in 2003.
“You’re going to see an energetic group of young men that are going to come out and pour their hearts in whether it’s 32 minutes or more we’re going to come out and give everything we got,” Sullivan said. “Guys are going to learn to play together and play for one another.”
St. Henry graduates six seniors off this past season’s team that went 7-19, but are expected to return four core players who played in at least 24 games.
“We are thrilled to welcome Mr. Tim Sullivan as our new Head Boys Varsity Basketball Coach,” St. Henry Athletic Director Jim Demler said. “He has a fantastic reputation here in Northern Kentucky and throughout the state. We are honored to add a coach of his stature. Coach Sullivan is a proven winner and always gets the very best from his players.”
*This story will be updated.