Cincinnati State names Ron Harris to lead women’s basketball team in 2011-12
August 11, 2011
After leading the Cincinnati State Lady Surge to the NJCAA national tournament last season, Theresa Check has decided to step down from coaching and focus on her duties as Director of Athletics.
Cincinnati State President Dr. O’dell M. Owens has named associate head coach Ron Harris to lead the women’s basketball program on an interim basis for the 2011-12 season.
Harris has been associated with the Cincinnati State program since 2006, and has served as Check's assistant and director of recruiting since her arrival at the college in 2008. Together, Check and Harris led the Lady Surge to back-to-back Ohio Community College Athletic Conference championships in 2009 and 2010 and the National Junior College Athletic Association Region XII championship and the national tournament in the 2010-11 season.
“We were fortunate to get Theresa to come out of retirement to coach at Cincinnati State for as long as she did,” Dr. Owens said. “I’m glad she’s going to be here to continue our winning traditions in our athletic program. And I’m delighted that we have someone of Ron’s caliber ready and willing to step up and lead the women’s basketball program this year.’’
Check came to Cincinnati State after a 17-year run as head coach at Central State University, where she compiled a 387-109 record as head coach before stepping down to concentrate on her duties as athletic director there. At Cincinnati State, she has helped build a program that in the past two years has seen four of its five teams play their way into national championship tournaments. This year, for the third consecutive year, the Cincinnati State athletic program was named winner of the OCCAC All-Sport Award.
Harris, for his part, is a familiar presence on the women’s basketball circuit in Greater Cincinnati.
Within the AAU orbit, Harris coached the U-16 Cincinnati Royals from 2001 to 2005, U-17 Cincinnati Knights from 2005 to 2009 and is currently coaching the U-16 A-Game Athletes. In his AAU coaching career, Harris has an overall record of 147-53 – with 80 percent of his players going on to play in college.
Since 2006 Harris has been an assistant coach and director of recruiting for the Cincinnati State women’s program. During his tenure at the college, the Lady Surge have gone 107-46 overall, with a conference record of 53-13. He was promoted to associate head coach at the start of the 2010-11 season.
"Coach Harris was always there for anything we needed as a program," said Check. "His dedication and hard work have been one of the main reasons our teams have had such great success over the years."
During his time at Cincinnati State, Harris has developed seven All-Region players, seventeen All-Conference Players, three OCCAC Players of the Year, two NJCAA All-Americans and two WBCA All-Americans. Nine players from the women’s program have gone on to play at NCAA or NAIA institutions since Harris’s arrival.
A 14-year military veteran who retired with the rank of sergeant, Harris earned associate degrees in business management and marketing management from Cincinnati State in 2008. He continued his education at Tiffin University, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in organizational management in the spring of 2011. Harris earned cum laude status in his pursuit of all three of his academic degrees.
Harris is a member of the Women's Basketball Coaching Association, Phi Theta Kappa and Cincinnati State's Black Male Initiative. He resides in Cincinnati with his wife Paulette.
