Since the dual announcements on the Valparaiso University campus Tuesday morning of the hiring of Bryce Drew to fill the position of men’s basketball head coach following the retirement of Dr. Homer Drew, the move has resulted in a multitude of media coverage nationally, regionally and locally.

Even prior to the official announcement Tuesday morning, speculation about the impending move began spreading, leading to a spot among ESPN.com’s top headlines Monday evening.  Then, following Tuesday’s announcement, Bryce Drew was featured on ESPN’s flagship show, SportsCenter, via a call-in interview.  The hiring also earned a mention on the “Big Finish” segment of ESPN talk show Pardon the Interrupion, where co-host Tony Kornheiser called the move “a perfect choice” and jokingly referred to Valparaiso men’s basketball as a “Drew-nasty.”

Newspapers nationwide picked up the story of Bryce’s hire and Homer’s retirement thanks to a comprehensive recap of the proceedings from the Associated Press.  The speculation about the move and then the official announcement also led to great deals of coverage in Northwest Indiana’s two main newspapers: the Northwest Indiana Times and the Post-Tribune.  Mark Lazerus of the Post-Tribune and Paul Oren of the NWI Times were there from start to finish, covering every angle of the announcement:

Post-Tribune – 5/16 - Homer Drew to retire at Valpo; Bryce will take over
5/17 – Homer Drew passes the torch to his son, Bryce
This son also rises
Still no plans for Baylor-Valpo showdown
Homer Drew’s rivals react to his retirement
Mark Lazerus column – There’s so few like him

NWI Times – 5/16 - Valpo coach Homer Drew to announce retirement; his son Bryce to take over
Bryce Drew has new challenge to conquer
Paul Oren column – Homer Drew’s legacy goes beyond the basketball court
5/17 – Homer Drew hands Valpo coaching reins to son Bryce
Longtime coach Homer Drew will remain with university as associate athletic director
Incoming recruits are all on board with the coaching change for next season
Paul Oren column – The time is now for Bryce Drew

The NWI Times website also featured a video piece, talking with both Bryce and Homer Drew, as well as former Crusader guard Howard Little.  Both the Post-Tribune and the NWI Times hosted photo galleries of Tuesday’s press conference on their respective websites, while the official Valparaiso University Flickr account also has a gallery from Tuesday’s proceedings.

Tuesday’s press conference also drew the attention of the South Bend area, where Homer Drew spent the first 12 seasons of his 34-year coaching career guiding first Bethel College and then IU-South Bend.  Both WNDU and Fox 28 had crews at the press conference for on-location pieces.  In addition, the entire press conference was streamed live and is now archived on the Horizon League Network, while Horizon League senior associate commissioner Bill Benner authored a Perspectives column on the league’s website regarding the coaching change.

Bryce Drew has also made a number of appearances on sports talk radio shows over the past few days to talk about his hiring.  Wednesday morning, he joined The Grady and Big Joe Show on ESPN 1070 The Fan out of Indianapolis.  Thursday morning saw Bryce talk on a pair of nationally syndicated sports talk radio shows, as he first called in to The Zakk & Jack Show on Fox Sports Radio.  Bryce then appeared on the Tim Brando Show, whose namesake host actually was on the call for the Crusaders’ Sweet Sixteen game in 1998 against Rhode Island, on Sporting News Radio.

Valparaiso fans in the Chicagoland area can catch both Bryce and Homer Drew this Monday, May 23, live on Comcast SportsNet Chicago’s Chicago Tribune live, which runs from 5:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m.  In addition, Bryce will be on the air Friday night with Indiana basketball legend Bob Lovell on Indiana Sports Talk and Saturday morning at 10 a.m. on Sirius XM College Sports Nation (Channel 91).