Gene Cross knew he wanted to be a college basketball coach since he was a player at the University of Illinois. With that goal in mind, everything Cross has done from that point forward has led him to where he stands now as he enters his first season as the head men’s basketball coach at the University of Toledo in the 2008-09 campaign.

Cross is leading the Rockets’ basketball program into a new era as UT will be playing its games in a newly-renovated Savage Hall.

"The Toledo basketball program has a great tradition, and I’m looking forward to building on that tradition," Cross said. "Savage Arena is going to be a tremendous facility, and it’s our goal to have a team that will make our fans proud and fill the arena."

A Chicago native who played collegiately at Illinois, Cross spent the last two seasons at Notre Dame as assistant coach/recruiting coordinator under head coach Mike Brey. The Fighting Irish qualified for the NCAA Tournament in each season, going 24-8 in 2006-07 and 25-8 in 2007-08, as Brey was named Big East Coach of the Year both seasons.

Prior to his stint with the Fighting Irish, Cross served as an assistant at Virginia and DePaul under head coach Dave Leitao and Illinois-Chicago under head coach Jimmy Collins.

SUCCESS AS A RECRUITER
Regarded as a tireless and innovative recruiter, Cross has received national recognition for his impressive history of recruiting success. He was named to the list of "Ten Assistants Ready For the Next Step" by CBSsportsline.com in 2007 and also named one of the top 25 recruiters in college basketball by Rivals.com in 2005.

The 2003 class recruited while he was at DePaul was ranked in the top 25 in the country by CSTV.com, while the 2000 class at UIC was ranked No. 1 in the Horizon League by Hoop Scoop.

Cross spent time with three successful head coaches working on his craft for when his turn came to run a program.

The first to take Cross under his wing was Collins, who saw his understudy’s potential right away.

"From day one, I could see Gene’s ambition and work ethic were well above the norm," Collins said. "He’s personable and has worked extremely hard to be knowledgeable of the game of basketball and the people who play and coach the game. That makes for a successful head coach."

Leitao and Brey echoed Collins’ sentiments and believe Cross is in an ideal situation for his recruiting background.

"Toledo is a terrific university and in an area of the country that will allow Gene to do well in recruiting, coaching and run a very successful basketball program," Leitao said. "I am extremely happy and pleased that after years of successful and diligent work that Gene is getting his first opportunity to be a college head coach."

Brey added, "Gene is the kind of guy you would want your son or daughter to play for. He’s been ready to be a head coach the last couple of years but was waiting for the right situation and certainly Toledo is that."

NCAA SUCCESS WITH THE FIGHTING IRISH
Cross’ tenure at Notre Dame was highlighted by a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances thanks to a high-powered, unselfish offense and a perfect 35-0 home mark. The Fighting Irish averaged 80.0 points per game over the last two seasons, including a nation-best 18.4 assists per game last year.

"We were very proud to lead the country in assists at Notre Dame, and that’s something I’d like to mirror at Toledo because that reflects a team that shares the basketball," Cross explained. "I’d like to see us at the top of the league in assists and have the league leader in assists on our team.

"It would be great if we had three or four players scoring in double figures, because that would mean we’re scoring a lot of points. That would lend itself to being unselfish, and an unselfish group is hard to guard and hard to beat."

In Cross’ first season in South Bend, he helped the Fighting Irish defy an 11th-place prediction in the Big East preseason coaches’ poll and post a 24-8 overall mark and an 11-5 conference ledger. Russell Carter and Colin Falls received first-team all-conference accolades, while Luke Harangody and Tory Jackson earned spots on the Big East’s All-Rookie Team. UND made its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2003 but was upset by Winthrop in the first round.

Notre Dame finished just a game away from capturing a share of the Big East’s regular-season title last year, finishing with a 25-8 record for the third-most wins in school history and an impressive 14-4 mark in conference action. Harangody received multiple All-America honors and was named Big East Player of the Year after averaging 20.4 points and 10.6 rebounds per game. The Fighting Irish advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament before falling to Washington State.

LIFE WITH LEITAO
Prior to joining the Notre Dame program, Cross spent four years as Dave Leitao’s top assistant at DePaul (2002-05) and Virginia (2005-06). It was during this time that he learned first hand what it was like to take over a program after coming in as an outsider.

"I think being with Dave at DePaul and Virginia will be helpful in my first year at Toledo," Cross said. "In both situations, the administration wanted a change and being a change agent is hard because people don’t necessarily like change.

"You have to be strong-willed and steadfast with how you approach people in and around your program so they understand your method."

Along with Leitao, Cross helped the Blue Demons rebound from two straight losing seasons to post a 58-34 record and make three postseason appearances. During his time, he coached five All-Conference USA performers.

The 2002-03 campaign saw DePaul quadruple their conference wins from two to eight and nearly double their previous season’s win total with a 16-13 ledger. That mark was good enough for an NIT appearance which ended with a first-round setback at North Carolina.

The Blue Demons continued to build on their success in 2003-04 with a 22-10 ledger in addition to earning a share of the Conference USA regular-season title and the postseason tournament’s No. 1 seed with a 12-4 record. The memorable season included advancing to the C-USA championship game and receiving their first NCAA invitation in four years as well as their highest seed since 1992. The Blue Demons opened tourney play by winning a 76-69 (2OT) thriller over Dayton to reach the second round for the first time since 1989. DePaul fell short of a Sweet 16 appearance with a loss to eventual national champion Connecticut.

A second-straight 20-win season and a 10-6 league mark followed in Cross’ final year in the Windy City. The Blue Demons advanced to the second round of the NIT, posting a 75-70 victory at Missouri before falling to Texas A&M.

When the duo traveled together to Virginia, the Cavaliers were picked to finish last in the Atlantic Coast Conference and ended up posting a 15-15 overall record and earning an NIT berth. Among UVA’s triumphs were home wins over a No. 24 North Carolina team coming off a national championship and No. 11 Boston College.

STARTING OUT AT UIC
The first destination in Cross’ collegiate coaching career was in his hometown at the University of Illinois-Chicago. After receiving his master’s degree at Ohio State and spending one year coaching at Marion-Franklin High School, Cross joined his former Illinois assistant coach Jimmy Collins when he was hired at UIC.

"Coach Collins was a masterful recruiter and I’m thankful that he gave my first college coaching job," Cross said. "I learned about the importance of developing relationships from him and how that helps in the recruiting process."

During his six seasons (1996-2002) with the Flames, he helped the program to the first two NCAA Tournament berths in school history after capturing conference titles in 1998 and 2002.

In their first year with the program, Collins and Cross helped UIC post a 15-14 overall record and reach the MCC Tournament championship game, where the Flames fell to Butler by just a point, 69-68. After a 1-8 start, the team posted a 14-6 mark in their final 20 outings, including an 11-5 conference finish to tie for second place.

The 1997-98 squad tied a school record with 22 wins and captured a share of Midwestern Collegiate Conference regular-season crown. During the regular season, the Flames had victories over conference champions Michigan State (Big Ten), Illinois State (Missouri Valley) and Valparaiso (Mid-Continent), helping them earn an at-large invitation to the NCAA Tournament.

In his final season at UIC, the Flames finished with a 20-14 record and claimed the Horizon League tournament title. With the win, UIC earned an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament, where it lost to eventual Final Four participant Oklahoma in the first round.

During his time with the Flames, Cross coached 1997-98 MCC Player of the Year Mark Miller and seven all-conference performers.

LIFE AS A PLAYER
Cross played four seasons (1990-94) at Illinois under Head Coach Lou Henson, lettering as a junior and senior and helping the Fighting Illini to NCAA Tournament appearances in both seasons. He played in just 29 games as a walk-on during his career, but it turned out to be a good learning environment on his road to becoming a head coach.

"I didn’t have a lot of game experience, but I did get a chance to play against a lot of good players in practice," Cross said. "One of the greatest lessons I learned about was work ethic and leadership. "

Henson said it was clear even at that point the new Rockets’ bench boss was poised to one day become a head coach.

"Gene contributed a lot to our teams and we talked about the game of basketball quite a bit," Henson said. "He was eager to learn and is a very intelligent, personable individual. Even as a walk-on he displayed as much leadership on our team as anyone and maybe even more."

Cross played his prep basketball at Rich Central High School in Chicago under head coach Ron Brauer. As a senior, he earned all-conference honors as well as being named his team’s Most Valuable Player.

ON A PERSONAL LEVEL
Cross, 36, earned his bachelor’s degree in history from Illinois in 1994 and received a master’s degree in sport management at Ohio State in 1996.

Cross has served on several committees with the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), including the last five years as President of the Assistant Coaches Board. In addition, he is currently part of the NABC Division I Congress and Special Committee for Recruiting and Access.

The son of Gene Cross and Haroleon Hall, Cross comes from an athletic family. His grandfather, George, played basketball at Illinois State, and two of his cousins also played collegiate athletics. David Cross played football at Northwestern, and Gene Cross played basketball at Southern Illinois.