UNION, Ky. — Cooper High School boys basketball coach Tim Sullivan said Tuesday afternoon his coaching contract was not renewed for the 2025-26 season, and he is awaiting a decision from Monday’s appeal hearing.
“Principal Mike Wilson and AD Randy Borchers did in fact non-renew me on Wednesday, April 30,” Sullivan wrote in a text message. “Superintendent Jeff Hauswald upheld that decision to non-renew my coaching contract.”
A phone call and text message to Borchers were not immediately returned. Two emails requesting information were also sent to Boone County Schools.
Sullivan said he participated in an appeal hearing Monday.
“I am now waiting on Dr. Hauswald’s decision of my appeal,” Sullivan wrote in a text message. “That’s all I have to share right now. Once I hear back from the superintendent on his decision, I will be more than willing to give more info.”
The development occurred less than two months after Sullivan led Cooper to the Kentucky High School Athletic Association state quarterfinals at Rupp Arena in Lexington. The Jaguars lost to eventual state champion Great Crossing in a quarterfinal March 28.
Sullivan, who had been Cooper’s coach since the program started in 2008, was told Jan. 21 he had the option to resign or not have his contract renewed at the end of this season. Sullivan earned his 300th career win in February.
Cooper (24-6 record in 2024-25), winners of the Ninth Region, made their first UK HealthCare Boys’ Sweet appearance since 2017 when the Jaguars were the state runner-up.
Cooper, which defeated Henderson County 50-35 in a Sweet 16 first-round game, was ranked No. 5 in the season’s MaxPreps Kentucky boys basketball rankings.
Sullivan’s status at Cooper drew a spotlight in Northern Kentucky and around the high school basketball community statewide. WCPO 9 News reported parents, former athletes and current players attended the Boone County School Board meeting in mid-March to express their support for Sullivan. An online petition to keep Sullivan at Cooper had 3,117 signatures as of Tuesday afternoon.
“It is pretty special to see not only our guys come together but our school and our community,” Sullivan said in late March before the Sweet 16 tournament. “And the way they’ve really rallied behind this group. I’ve had so many people from across the state — friends of mine and acquaintances of mine — that have reached out and just said, ‘We’re really pulling for you guys. And we’ve seen you guys play and this is a really fun group to get behind.’ It makes you feel really good about the character of your kids, the culture of your program and you just want to go out and represent your school and represent your family.”
This spring, Sullivan's status for the 2025-26 Cooper season was unknown publicly until Tuesday afternoon.
