Chattanooga hires a proven winner in former Ohio State coach Jim Foster

It is not often that a brand new AD can make a soon-to-be Hall of Fame coach as his first hire.

Chattanooga's David Blackburn has that distinction.

Jim Foster was named as the Chattanooga head coach this past week after being fired at Ohio State, where he had 20 wins and an NCAA appearance in 10 out of his 11 seasons in Columbus. He also brings a combined career record of 783-307 at St. Joe's, Vanderbilt and Ohio State. The only knock on Foster at Ohio State was his inability to win in the NCAA Tournament.

He will inherit a Chattanooga team which went 29-4 last season, falling in the first round of the NCAA's to Nebraska. They return 3 starters.

Foster got the opportunity when Wes Moore left the Tennessee school for NC State. Ohio State replaced Foster with Washington's Kevin McGuff.

The three hires appear to be a winning situation for each individual school. Foster is a proven winner. Moore had a great record at Chattanooga and McGuff has had NCAA success as an assistant at Notre Dame, including a 2001 National Championship, and at Xavier with an Elite 8 appearance in 2008.

Foster will be inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville on June 8.

For more on Jim Foster and Ohio State, visit our Ohio State coaching search storystream.