The Plainsman Press - South Plains College

by Jerry Thomas, staff writer

From Abilene, Texas to Lexington, Kentucky, Billy Gillispie has had many coaching stops in his career. But none are like the job he just accepted.

Gillispie, who was a former assistant coach for South Plains College men’s basketball, was named the head coach of the University of Kentucky men’s basketball team on April 6, less than two weeks after the resignation of Tubby Smith.

The 2007 Big 12 Coach of the Year leaves Texas A&M University after three successful seasons and a contract extension that would have made him one of the highest- paid coaches in the Big 12 conference. He takes the UK job that will pay him an estimated $2.7 million a year and joins one of the more prestigious programs in the country.
Gillispie, who was a finalist for the 2007 Naismith National Coach of the Year award, led the Texas A&M Aggies to a school record 27-7 mark overall and a No.3 seed in the NCAA tournament. The Aggies also finished the season ranked ninth in the national poll.

In three seasons at College Station, Gillispie compiled a 70-28 record with the Aggies. Prior to his stop at A&M, Gillispie was the head coach at the University of Texas El Paso. In his first year with the Miners, he suffered a 6-24 record. But in his second season, the Miners finished 24-8 and went to the NCAA tournament.

Prior to being hired at UTEP, Gillispie was an assistant coach for eight years at Baylor, Tulsa, and Illinois. He served under current Kansas Jayhawks coach Bill Self at Tulsa from 1997-2000 and at Illinois from 2000-2002. From 1994-1997, Gillispie was the top assistant and served as the recruiting coordinator for Baylor head coach Harry Miller. Gillispie also served as an assistant and recruiting coordinator for South Plains College in 1993 under Larry Brown, who then was the head coach of the men’s basketball team. Before his short stint with SPC, Gillispie was a head coach for three Texas high school teams, Copperas Cove, New Braunfels Canyon, and Killeen Ellison from 1987-1993.

Gillispie graduated from Texas State University in 1983 and served as a graduate assistant there from 1982-1985. Gillispie was born in Abilene, Texas on Nov. 7, 1959. His family moved to Graford, Texas, located 65 miles north of Fort Worth, where he graduated from high school. He attended Ranger Junior College in 1978-1980, where he was a two-sport athlete in baseball and basketball.