Cincinnati men’s basketball released the first three minutes of a new docuseries, titled “Calhoun Street,” following the program’s rich history and buildup to Jerrod Calhoun’s first season as head coach. It’s set to debut on ESPN+ next Thursday, Oct. 29.
After a successful run at Utah State, Calhoun agreed to a six-year, $3.7 million deal to become the next head coach of the Bearcats and return to his alma mater, where he began his coaching career working for Bob Huggins as a student assistant (2003-04). Two assistant jobs later, Fairmont State hired Calhoun for his first men’s basketball head coaching job in 2012.
It’ll be Calhoun’s fourth stop following Utah State, Youngstown State and Fairmont State; The Liverpool, Ohio, native is 297-159 (.651) in his 14-year head coaching tenure.
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Could Calhoun add his name to the list of Cincinnati coaching legacies? From the trailer, it seems the mission right now is simply getting the program back into shape following four sub-20-win seasons since 2019-20. The film is being produced in partnership with 4th Floor Creative, a video production company based in the greater Cincinnati area.
“We’re really excited to partner with 4th Floor Creative on this project detailing what goes on behind the scenes of our program with just a tremendous group of student-athletes and staff members,” Calhoun said in a release. “We’ve had them with us throughout the preseason, and I’m looking forward to this showcase of our group heading into the season.”
Gale Catlett, Huggins and Mick Cronin all called Cincinnati home at one point in their respective coaching careers, and this new look into Calhoun’s inaugural season hopes to capture the foundation of his coaching tenure as the Bearcats chase their first NCAA Tournament berth since the 2018-19 campaign. Cincinnati is 46-32 in 33 all-time tournament appearances, including a program-record 14 consecutive trips with Huggins from 1991-92 to 2004-05.
While making the film, Calhoun and Cincinnati find themselves in the middle of a legal quagmire with the NCAA, which recently filed a federal lawsuit with Ohio Governor Mike DeWine over an executive order granting eligibility to Class of 2022 student-athletes seeking a fifth year of eligibility in the state of Ohio, including incoming transfers MJ Collins and Amani Lyles.
