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Tom Bryant chosen for Miami University hall of fame DANVILLE, KY - Tom Bryant, former head basketball coach at Centre College (1968-96), has been chosen for induction into the Miami University Athletic Hall of Fame. Formal induction ceremonies are set for mid-October. Bryant is a 1955 Miami graduate, where he was a starter on three conference-winning basketball teams. He was team MVP and made the Mid-America All-Conference Team. When Bryant retired from Centre in 1996, he had the longest tenure of any head coach in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference. His teams won 15 conference championships, and he guided the Colonels to the NCAA Division III "Final Four" in 1979 and 1989. Bryant's Colonels made the Division III NCAA tournament seven other times. The National Association of Basketball Coaches named him Kodak Coach of the Year in the South District eight times-in 1979, five consecutive seasons from 1982 to 1986, and again in 1989. In that 1989 season, Centre went 10-0 in conference play (the old College Athletic Conference) and had an overall 24-7 record. Bryant had successful coaching stints at Colerain, Hillsboro, and Walnut Township high schools in Ohio before becoming the Centre head coach. He was named "Coach of the Year" by the Cincinnati Enquirer and the Hamilton County Suburban League. He coached in the 1967 Ohio North-South All-Star Game, served on the state board of the Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association and was president of the Greater Cincinnati Basketball Coaches Association. He is a member of the Ohio Coaches Hall of Fame. - end - Communications Office Public information coordinator: Patsi Barnes Trollinger |