Utah names Boylen new coach

Mar 28, 2007, 4:40 GMT

Salt Lake City, UT - The University of Utah named Jim Boylen as its new men's basketball coach and signed him to a five-year deal on Tuesday.

'This is a dream come true for me to become the head coach at Utah,' said Boylen. 'My family and I are very thankful for this opportunity, and we are excited about becoming a part of the community. We are going to try to build a program that Michael Young, Chris Hill and the Utah fans can be proud of, and we are going to do it the right way.'

The 41-year-old Boylen got the job after completing just his second season as an assistant coach at Michigan State.

Before that, Boylen served time on the sidelines in the NBA for 13 seasons. In 1994, he was promoted to assistant coach of the Rockets, and during his 11- year stint in Houston, the Rockets won back-to-back NBA Championships (1994-95). In 2003-04, he served as an assistant at Golden State and the following season he was in the same capacity with the Milwaukee Bucks.

'We're excited to have Jim as our new head coach,' said director of athletics Dr. Chris Hill. 'He is someone who has tremendous knowledge of the game of basketball, cares about his players, is into the individual development of each player, and shares our vision for the University of Utah basketball program.'

Boylen replaced Ray Giacoletti, who resigned as Utah's head coach on March 2. The Utes captured the Mountain West Conference title and qualified for the NCAA Sweet 16 in Giacoletti's first season in 2004-05, but this year's Utes went 11-19.

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