Lexington, KY - Kentucky's search for a men's basketball coach ended Friday when Billy Gillispie agreed to leave Texas A&M to take over the storied Wildcats program.
Gillispie was introduced at a press conference Friday afternoon, becoming the 21st coach in Kentucky history and just the sixth in the last 76 years. He has agreed to a seven-year deal with a salary of $2.3 million per season.
'When you talk about wanting to be a basketball coach, you never even think a situation such as this is possible,' Gillispie said Friday. 'Through hard work, dedication and luck I'm sitting here today as the head coach at the best position you can ever have in college basketball.'
Just last week, Gillispie agreed to a new contract with Texas A&M, a package worth $1.75 million through March 2015. However, he apparently never signed the deal.
Gillispie had been rumored to be in the running for the Kentucky job, which became vacant when Tubby Smith left to take over at Minnesota. However, the Wildcats had set their sights on Florida's Billy Donovan, who apparently never really gave serious consideration to the opening and on Thursday announced his decision to remain with the Gators.
Texas' Rick Barnes was also reportedly on Kentucky's wish list, but he too said Thursday he would stay with the Longhorns.
Gillispie then became the top choice after turning around a Texas A&M program that had long been dormant.
In three years with the Aggies, Gillispie guided the team to a record of 70-26 with a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances. A&M was 27-7 this past season, earning the most wins in school history, and reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1980. The Aggies beat Penn and Louisville before falling to Memphis by one point in the regional semifinal.
Texas A&M finished with a 13-3 conference mark, one game behind regular-season champion Kansas, for its highest-ever finish in Big 12 history.
Gillispie came to Texas A&M off a season in which he led UTEP to one of the best turnarounds in college basketball history. UTEP went from losing 24 games during the 2002-03 season to winning 24 in the following campaign, Gillispie's second at the helm.
In five seasons as a collegiate head coach, Gillispie owns a record of 100-58.
'When we started this process, we sort of had an M.O. of all the coaches at Kentucky that we have,' said Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart. 'They are people who are tireless workers, great recruiters, well-organized, passionate about their craft, dedicated to making Kentucky better and they're concerned for the student-athletes. Those were the things that were important to us in this process. Having said that, we found the guy that matches those qualities in Billy Gillispie.'
Kentucky, by its lofty standards, has fallen on hard times. Despite making the NCAA Tournament in each of Smith's 10 seasons at the helm, the Wildcats had not earned a Final Four trip since his first year when the school won the 1997-98 national championship.
Smith compiled a record of 263-83 at Kentucky. The Wildcats advanced to the Elite Eight four times during his tenure, but were bounced from the tournament in the second round in each of the last two years.
This past season, Kentucky ended the year with a 22-12 record and lost seven of its last 11 games overall. The Wildcats' season came to an end with a loss to Kansas in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on March 18.
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