CSNbbs

http://blogs.chron.com/lopezblog/archive...lly_g.html

Officials: Billy Gillispie to stay at Texas A&M
Texas A&M basketball coach Billy Gillispie will remain head coach of the basketball program he has turned into a national power, three high-ranking sources close to and within the A&M system have confirmed.

Gillispie apparently has not officially confirmed to athletic director Bill Byrne or the regents that he will accept a new contract that will pay him in the neighborhood of $2 million a year, including guarantees added to the deal that runs through 2012. But regents and athletic department officials feel confident the new deal, and construction on the new A&M basketball facility scheduled to begin Monday, are the guarantees Gillispie was pursuing.

"The fence will go up (at the construction site) and they'll get it rolling," one source said of the 50,000-square-foot, $20 million facility that will include practice areas for men's and women's basketball, offices and training areas.

After several meetings with A&M athletic director Bill Byrne, Gillispie received notice today that the A&M Board of Regents will rubber-stamp the contract and expedite the start of construction on the facility.

Gillispie has been contemplating an offer from the University of Arkansas to replace fired coach Stan Heath. If he accepts the A&M deal as expected, regents expect Gillispie to be, "a lifer."

The announcement should become official after the A&M regents meet Thursday and Friday.

Delays in the start of construction for the facility arrived after one of the lead architects died, and because of turnover in the A&M system facility construction administration.

The A&M regents also is expected to approve general contractor SpawGlass as the new construction manager for the project and has received assurances that the facility will be completed on time.

In three seasons at A&M, Gillispie has compiled a record of 70-26, carrying the once-lowly program to an NIT bid his first season and back-to-back berths in the NCAA Tournament the past two years, including an appearance in the Sweet 16 this season.

Good for he and Pearle. I would love to see some of these "elite" schools be turned down by their first choices. It would be entertaining to watch Ark and Ky go thru a "NC State type search" ;-)

If you have not lived in Texas it's hard for you to understand the true size and power of UT and aTm. They have incredibly loyal fans, very deep pockets indeed, tons of tradition.

A&M is the kind of program where a winning coach can put down deep roots and do extremely well, both in terms of his record and his contract dollars. It is also of course home to delusional fans who expect annual miracles - less so in basketball than football perhaps but the pressure can still be extreme.

If Gillespie stays and keeps up the momentum he has so far brought to College Station he can really turn that program around and build himself one helluva good long term job.

Lord knows I hate both the Aggies and the Teasips but facts are facts. That could be every bit as good a place to be as UTK has turned out to be for Bruce Pearl.

UAB Band Dad Wrote:If you have not lived in Texas it's hard for you to understand the true size and power of UT and aTm. They have incredibly loyal fans, very deep pockets indeed, tons of tradition.

A&M is the kind of program where a winning coach can put down deep roots and do extremely well, both in terms of his record and his contract dollars. It is also of course home to delusional fans who expect annual miracles - less so in basketball than football perhaps but the pressure can still be extreme.

If Gillespie stays and keeps up the momentum he has so far brought to College Station he can really turn that program around and build himself one helluva good long term job.

Lord knows I hate both the Aggies and the Teasips but facts are facts. That could be every bit as good a place to be as UTK has turned out to be for Bruce Pearl.

I kind of like aTm for showing up the Turds! Go Coach Fran!