Texas A&M named Billy Kennedy their new men’s basketball coach on Sunday.
“I am very excited to announce that we have hired Billy Kennedy as our new men’s basketball head coach,” said Texas A&M Director of Athletics Bill Byrne. “I think he is the perfect fit for Texas A&M. In talking to several people who I respect in college basketball, they mentioned Billy as an outstanding basketball coach but an even better person. He is a winner and his players play hard for him and they play an aggressive style of defense.”
Kennedy had received a contract extension from Murray State on Wednesday that would have kept him there through the 2014-15 season.
Kennedy led Murray State to a 107-53 record over the last five seasons and has a 211-179 head coaching record overall between Centenary, Southeastern Louisiana, and Murray State.
He received the Ohio Valley Conference Coach of the Year Award in 2010 and 2011.
Kennedy was an assistant coach for Texas A&M during the 1990-1991 season.
“I can’t wait to get back to Aggieland,” said Kennedy. “Even though I was there for only a short time, I could tell Aggieland is a special place. Aggies have great pride and passion for their school and their athletic programs. I have watched with interest the recent success and the NCAA Tournament appearances the past six years. I look forward to meeting the team and working toward a seventh NCAA bid as well as even deeper tournament runs.”
Kennedy will take over the program from Mark Turgeon, who accepted an offer to become Maryland’s head men’s basketball coach on Monday. Turgeon coached Texas A&M for four seasons and compiled a 97-40 record over that span.
Turgeon led the Aggies to the NCAA Tournament every season, but could not advance further than the round of 32.
Kennedy led Murray State to the NCAA Tournament in 2010, where his team upset fourth-seeded Vanderbilt 66-65 in the opening round before suffering a 54-52 defeat by the eventual national runner-up Butler in their next contest.
Kennedy will be announced at a news conference on Monday at 4 p.m. (et), pending approval by The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents.
“We are anxious to get Billy and his family to campus to introduce him to his team, the community and Aggies everywhere,” said Byrne.
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