Cullop built Evansville into one of the best programs in the Missouri Valley Conference in her eight years as head coach. She guided her teams to a 73-48 record over the past four seasons, including 45-27 in league action. This past season the Purple Aces were 21-8, 13-5 in the Missouri Valley, en route to a share of the school's first regular-season MVC title and a berth into the WNIT. For her achievements, Cullop was named the Missouri Valley "Coach of the Year."

"It is with great pleasure and enthusiasm that we welcome Tricia Cullop as the head women's basketball coach at the University of Toledo," said O'Brien. "Tricia is a proven winner at the Division I level. She has built the University of Evansville into a consistent title contender. Her teams have excelled on the court, in the classroom and in the community. She is a great choice to lead our women's basketball team back among the elite programs in the Mid-American Conference."

"I'm ecstatic about the opportunity to be the head coach at the University of Toledo," said Cullop. "I'm excited to have a chance to coach in what will be an unbelievable basketball arena and to work with Mike O'Brien. Toledo has everything?a beautiful campus, a very supportive administration and all the amenities that make it a great place for student-athletes to grow and prosper. Knowing where this program has been, and knowing its potential to be great again make this an exciting opportunity for me.

"I would like to add that one of the most attractive things about the UT women's basketball program is its extremely loyal fan base. As we improve the program, I expect more fans will come out and support us and make the new Savage Hall a fantastic home-court advantage."

Cullop, who was a four-year letterwinner as a player at Purdue, took over the head coaching position at Evansville in 2000 following stints as an assistant coach at Radford, Long Beach State and Xavier. After an initial rebuilding phase, Cullop steadily built the program into a consistent winner. Since the 2004-05 season, the Purple Aces have had records of 17-11, 16-13, 19-12 and 21-12. Cullop's 123 wins ranks her second all-time at Evansville, just one win behind former coach Bill Barnett. In her eight seasons at the helm, her teams finished in the top half of the Missouri Valley six times, and defeated non-conference opponents Kentucky, Louisville, Cincinnati and Temple.

This past season, Cullop's team shook off a slow start to win 10 straight conference games and clinch a share of the MVC regular-season title. Evansville lost in the semifinals of the MVC Tournament, but advanced to the WNIT by virtue of its regular-season title. In their first-round WNIT contest, the Purple Aces overcame a 19-point second half deficit to knock off Ohio Valley Conference champion Southeast Missouri State, 60-58, the first post-season victory in UE women's basketball history. Evansville's post-season ride ended in the second round of the WNIT, as Kansas shot down the Purple Aces at historic Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, KS, 82-60.

Cullop's teams caught the attention of local women's basketball fans, as Evansville set season attendance marks in each of her final six seasons at the helm, culminating with an average of more than 1,500 fans per game in 2007-08, more than double the average when she first assumed the head coaching job in 2000-01. The NCAA recognized Evansville's attendance growth with a "Pack the House" award this season.

Cullop's teams shone in the classroom, as well. The women's basketball team was one of Evansville's's top academic squads over the last seven years. The team has achieved a cumulative team grade point average over 3.15 in Cullop's eight years at the helm, including posting a 3.31 team GPA in 2006-07 school year and a 3.08 GPA in the 2008 fall semester.

Cullop and her team were also very active in the Evansville community, including helping with such projects as Habitat for Humanity, the Race for the Cure and the American Heart Walk. She was also instrumental in creating the "Women's Hoops for the Cure" game, with proceeds from an UE contest going to the Greater Evansville Affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation to aid in breast cancer research, and the Future Purple Aces Fast B.R.E.A.K. (Basketball Reinforcing Education to Area Kids) program, which uses basketball to help grade school children apply the concepts of math to real-life situations.

Individually, Evansville's's players reached new heights under Cullop's guidance. Cullop helped produce 13 All-MVC players, including seven first-team selections during her tenure. Cullop has also helped produce UE's only two MVC Defensive Players of the Year, and a pair of MVC All-Freshman Team selections in her tenure as head coach.

Cullop came to Evansville in April, 2000 after four years as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Xavier University. While at Xavier, she helped the Musketeers to their best record in school history (26-5 in 1999-2000), and the school's first-ever Atlantic 10 Tournament championship. Xavier captured two NCAA Tournament bids and one WNIT berth in her four years as an assistant coach.

Cullop also had assistant coaching stops at Radford and Long Beach State prior to joining the Xavier staff. In her two seasons at Radford, the Highlanders earned their first two NCAA Tournament berths in school history. All told, Cullop has been a part of seven NCAA Tournaments and two WNIT berths in her 18 years as a player and coach at the collegiate level.

As a player, Cullop was a four-year letterwinner at Purdue where she was part of three-straight NCAA Tournament teams (1989-90, 1990-91 and 1991-92) and won Purdue's first-ever Big Ten championship. She was team captain in 1992-93 and a three-time academic All-Big Ten selection under head coach Lin Dunn (currently head coach with the Indiana Fever of the WNBA). Cullop was named the Purdue Mortar Board Female Student-Athlete of the Year in 1993.

A native of Bicknell, IN, Cullop was a 1989 High School All-American at North Knox High School. She was also a member of the North Squad in the 1991 U.S. Sports Festival.

Cullop earned a B.A. in communications from Purdue in 1993. She is the daughter of Theodore and Jannette Cullop, and has two sisters, Tammy and Tracy.

"Tricia is one of the rising stars in the coaching profession. She possesses a tremendous work ethic and will have Toledo back on top of the Mid-American Conference in no time."
- Maryland Head Coach Brenda Frese

"Tricia Cullop's hiring is a home run! I love Toledo and I am excited about what Coach Cullop can do to bring the program back to a high level for all the great fans and players who make Lady Rocket basketball so special."
- Iowa State Head Coach Bill Fennelly (Toledo head coach from 1988-95)

"Tricia is a fabulous hire for the University of Toledo. The Rockets got one of the best young coaches in the game. She did amazing things at her last job, and I fully expect her to exceed everyone's expectations at Toledo. She has confidence, experience, savvy and connections to get the job done."
- Mike Flynn - Editor of the Blue Star Report (National Girls Basketball Newsletter)