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After visiting UNLV, Mick Cronin will stay at Cincinnati

Mick Cronin

Cincinnati head coach Mick Cronin instruct his team during the first half of a first-round men’s college basketball game against Saint Joseph’s in the NCAA Tournament in Spokane, Wash., Friday, March 18, 2016. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)

AP

After visiting with UNLV earlier this week, Cincinnati head coach Mick Cronin has decided to stay with the Bearcats.

A Cincinnati native, who also graduated from the University of Cincinnati, Cronin released a statement on Friday indicating that he’s staying the Queen City.

“I would like people to try and understand after 10 years of dedicated service I chose to evaluate my career and my life,” Cronin said in a statement released by the school. “Reflecting through that process was extremely difficult, but it was something I needed to do for me personally.

“The city of Cincinnati and the university are special places to me and I’ve always said what an honor it is to be the head coach at my alma mater. This program has come such a long way in 10 years and we’ve still got work to do and goals to achieve. The 2016-17 season starts for me today and I can’t wait for the future that lies ahead for the Bearcats and this university.”

Cronin has been the head coach at Cincinnati since the 2006-07 season. After a few years of rebuilding, the Bearcats have been to six consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, as Cronin has been keeping the program going after the move from the Big East to the American Athletic Conference.

The 2015-16 season was a return to the sidelines for Cronin after he missed most of the 2014-15 season after being diagnosed with a vascular condition known as arterial dissection. Doctors discovered an unruptured aneurysm in December 2014 after Cronin had been complaining about headaches. Cronin took a leave from coaching the team on a day-to-day basis but still ran the program from afar. He returned to his full-time coaching responsibilities in March 2015.

UNLV also released a statement on Friday indicating that Cronin was no longer a candidate for their open position. UNLV athletic director Tina Kunzer-Murphy issued a statement about Cronin, saying “we appreciate his interest in the position, but he is no longer a candidate.”

Cronin is signed with the Cincinnati through the 2020-21 season after signing a seven-year extension in June 2014.