TOLEDO, Ohio — Bowling Green State University appears close to hiring its next men's basketball coach.
ESPN's Pete Thamel reported Tuesday that BGSU is in talks with Southern Utah's Todd Simon, and a deal is "expected to come together" in the coming days. Simon would replace Michael Huger, who was fired after an 11-20 season and failing to qualify for the Mid-American Conference tournament quarterfinals for the second straight year.
Stadium's Jeff Goodman confirmed the report.
Simon, a Michigan native, took over Southern Utah in 2016. After a 6-27 first season, his teams went 112-79 in the last six.
He led the Thunderbirds to 20 or more wins in each of the last three seasons and a Big Sky regular season championship in 2020-21. Southern Utah averaged just 4.5 Division I wins a year from 2013-2017.
Simon was born in Fowler, Michigan, about two and a half hours northwest of Bowling Green. He graduated from Central Michigan University in 2003.
Simon spent six years as an assistant coach for Nevada high school power Findlay Prep before becoming the head coach for one year. During his time, the team was 192-9.
He then left to join the UNLV coaching staff, where he coached from 2013-2016.
Huger finished his coaching career at Bowling Green with a record of 126-125 (64-82 MAC). The Falcons finished this season at 11-20 (5-13).
BGSU has not appeared in the NCAA Tournament since 1968.
This will be one of the first big hires for BGSU athletic director Derek van der Merwe, who was hired in October 2022.
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