WVU Coaching Search: Ross Hodge, North Texas Advance to NIT Semifinals

The Mean Green's season continues on, just as West Virginia's search reaches its final days.

Nov 13, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; North Texas Mean Green head coach Ross Hodge reacts during the first half against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Williams Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images / Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

West Virginia athletic director Wren Baker does a really good job of keeping the lid pretty tight on his coaching searches with very little information leaking out.

While there have been various reports and rumors of WVU meeting with several candidates and potentially having momentum with some, the picture remains unclear of where this search will ultimately end.

With the recent hires of Niko Medved (Minnesota), Ben McCollum (Iowa), and Richard Pitino (Xavier), the guy everyone has their attention on is Ross Hodge of North Texas.

Hodge replaced Grant McCasland last season, who left to take the head coaching job at Texas Tech. Hodge was the associate head coach on McCasland's staff for six seasons, playing a pivotal role in turning the program into a perennial contender in Conference USA.

On Tuesday night, Hodge's Mean Green escaped Stillwater with a narrow 61-59 win over Oklahoma State in the quarterfinals of the NIT. They will meet the winner of UC Irvine/UAB on April 1st at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, meaning Hodge will have a little extra time on his hands to discuss the WVU job.

Most candidates like to wait until their season is over to discuss job opportunities, but with it being the NIT and having several days in between games, this could be a situation where discussions do take place and perhaps a decision is made before their next game.

With the transfer portal having opened on Monday, WVU is already playing from behind and can't afford to drag out this search much longer.

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