Bob Johnson has stepped down as men's basketball coach at Emory and Henry after 27 years. Johnson, who will remain athletic director, is battling cancer and expects to spend large portions of the upcoming basketball season in Houston, where he will receive treatment for cancer of the kidney.

Effective immediately, associate head coach Paul Russo will assume the head coaching duties.

Johnson has built a national reputation for his coaching, having taken five teams to the NCAA playoffs, two of which finished in the Sweet 16. This past April the National Association of Basketball Coaches awarded him the Division III Service Award. Johnson has 370 wins and 334 losses. He was honored three times as Old Dominion Athletic Conference Coach of the Year and three times as the NCAA South Region Coach of the Year.

President Rosalind Reichard expressed the appreciation of the entire Emory & Henry community for Johnson's contributions. She stated: “Coach Johnson is a dynamic and creative basketball coach. He has taught numerous young men important lessons in life as well as in basketball. His many friends will be thinking about him and praying for him as he continues this battle. “

Under Johnson's leadership three players were named ODAC players of the year: including Kevin Brown (E&H Class of 1986), Leon Hill (E&H Class of 1990) and Justin Call (E&H Class of 2004), who won the Jostens Award as the top student-athlete in Division III basketball.