College of Charleston begins coaching search

College of Charleston men’s basketball coach Bobby Cremins announced Monday he is officially stepping down and the school said it would immediately begin a search for his replacement.

Cremins, 64, began a medical leave of absence for exhaustion on Jan. 27 and in the interim was replaced by associate head coach Mark Byington, who guided the Cougars to a 7-4 record for a 19-12 overall record.

“Sometimes our body sends us signals, so we have to listen,” Cremins said. “The silver lining is that my staff, led by Mark Byington, my team, my school, they had my back and responded in a special way.”

School president Dr. George Benson said Cremins will remain with the school in fund-raising and relationships.

Director of athletics Joe Hull said Byington will be one of the finalists in the search process.

During Cremins’ six seasons at the College of Charleston, the Cougars compiled a 125-67 record. The Cougars played in the 2011 NIT and participated in the College Basketball Insider tournament in 2009 and 2010.

Before coming to the College of Charleston he coach at Appalachian State from 1975-81 and at Georgia Tech form 1981-2000. He retires with a career record of 579-374.

Byington and former Cougar star Anthony Johnson have been the two names most often mentioned as a replacement if Cremins decided against returning.