[alfus21]

Link from ESPN

[alfus21]

None other than Billy Gilispie of Texas A&M is expected to replace him. http://www.arkansasmatters.com/

What does this mean to me? Well it means that there is no way Gillispie would take this job when the UK job is still open. The offer is reportedly at 1.75 million per year. This tells me that the UK job is closed as Gillispie was one of the top 5 candidates according to every news source. I don't understand why he would take this if the job is still open.

I could be wrong about the job opening though

[alfus21]

Fox Sports Link

[alfus21]

So nobody cares that Gillispie is most likely headed to Arkansas now. A lot of people on here really seemed to like him. If Donovan falls through this one could hurt.

[Old school Dawg]

I care alfus that would make the razorbacks very very dangerous.I was hopey they would hire dan Dakich "sp" coach from bowling green that quit after 10 years of never getting them into the ncaa tourney.He went to WV then quit after 3 days and went back to BG and then WV hired Beilein.Thank the Good Lord for Beilein.

[TomSportsHack]

So nobody cares that Gillispie is most likely headed to Arkansas now.

Hold on there, chief --- the boosters at ATM have suddenly discovered a second sport they can cheat-UH-UH-UH "win at," I meant to say, and are digging as deep as they usually dig for football coaches, according to what I heard on ESPN Radio this afternoon. According to the Dallas Morning News, the TAMU Board was looking to give him a raise and extension even before the Arkansas job came open. And ATM is one of the top 10 schools in the country in terms of financial power, according to US News and World Report.

[alfus21]

Hold on there, chief --- the boosters at ATM have suddenly discovered a second sport they can cheat-UH-UH-UH "win at," I meant to say, and are digging as deep as they usually dig for football coaches, according to what I heard on ESPN Radio this afternoon. According to the Dallas Morning News, the TAMU Board was looking to give him a raise and extension even before the Arkansas job came open. And ATM is one of the top 10 schools in the country in terms of financial power, according to US News and World Report.

I am surprised at how fast all of this died down. It still wouldn't shock me though. Arkansas has money and has a ton more tradition than A&M.

[TomSportsHack]

I am surprised at how fast all of this died down. It still wouldn't shock me though. Arkansas has money and has a ton more tradition than A&M.

Tradition doesn't win games and BCG has a nice recruiting class (led by one of the top prep centers in the country, a 7-footer out of Houston) coming into College Station. They're finishing up a new practice complex there and you can't underestimate the financial power of the ATM boosters.

[alfus21]

Tradition doesn't win games and BCG has a nice recruiting class (led by one of the top prep centers in the country, a 7-footer out of Houston) coming into College Station. They're finishing up a new practice complex there and you can't underestimate the financial power of the ATM boosters.

I'm well aware of recruiting and who he has coming in but the two programs don't even begin to stack up. I'm not going to get in an argument with you because it's seems you've been all about them the last couple of days but the SEC is looking like a better conference now and the Arkansas job is one that would be hard for anybody to pass up. Bud Walton Arena says out almost every single game whereas A&M fans are just getting a sniff at success and still won't give him the kind of support he would get at Arkansas.

[TomSportsHack]

You're right: ATM fans are just getting a sniff at success. And methinks they're going to like it a lot. Three straight 20-win seasons under Billy Gillispie, who has put together four consecutive top-25 recruiting classes; Arkansas has history, but ATM has its future right in front of it.

Arkansas had glory days. Those glory days are in the past. Now it's just another mid-pack SEC team that had a nice run in the conference tournament before falling apart in the NCAAs. And we aren't talking about a step up in terms of conference prestige like a move from C-USA, MVC or Mountain West would be --- this is the Big 12, not the Big South. The two programs certainly do "stack up," and ATM is on its way up while Arkansas is at best treading water.

As for Billy Gillispie ... well, he's a native Texan, not just a typical "coach in passing" who's from someplace else. Heck, he's so Texan that his actual name is "Billy Clyde Gillispie" and he's the son of a cattle-truck-driver-turned-oil-field-worker from a dusty spot on the map called Graford, someplace west of Fort Worth. He's said in the past that he believes a national championship contender can be built without recruiting outside Texas; frankly, if he walks away now it looks a bit like he changed his mind about that. For a Texas native with that much coaching ability, ATM could just be a career-capping stop --- he has the chance to build his own legend instead of following somebody else's footsteps.

Reports out of Arkansas indicate that UA wants either Tim Floyd or Bill Self if it can't have Gillispie. No chance of either going to Fayetteville. Here's a list of coaches who might be gettable by the Razorbacks:

Winthrop's Gregg Marshall
Xavier's Sean Miller
GW's Karl Hobbs
Baylor's Scott Drew
Wichita State's Mark Turgeon
UNLV's Lon Kruger
Oregon's Ernie Kent
VCU's Anthony Grant

Personally, I think Arkansas needs to stop pretending it's North Carolina or Duke (1) and find the next great coach who's on his way up. Gregg Marshall, Mark Turgeon or Sean Miller would fit that description very well; Marshall and Turgeon might be the best coaches on that list.

[SIZE="1"](1) Here is Arkansas' basketball tradition: They haven't been to the Final Four in 12 years, they've won exactly seven conference tournament championships in their history (and only one in the SEC, in 2004 well after their Final Four years), haven't made the Elite Eight since 1995 (their last Final Four appearance) and haven't even smelled a Sweet Sixteen since 1996. Is that history one that makes you think "basketball powerhouse?"

I thought not.[/SIZE]

[alfus21]

[SIZE="1"](1) Here is Arkansas' basketball tradition: They haven't been to the Final Four in 12 years, they've won exactly seven conference tournament championships in their history (and only one in the SEC, in 2004 well after their Final Four years), haven't made the Elite Eight since 1995 (their last Final Four appearance) and haven't even smelled a Sweet Sixteen since 1996. Is that history one that makes you think "basketball powerhouse?"

I thought not.[/SIZE]

Here is Arkansas basketball tradition. Even the non biased rankers know it..>>LINK

8th best program all time in college basketball according to Smith and Streets rankings. Six Final Four appearances, a place that holds over 20,000 people, 7 SEC Tournament Championships, 22 Southwest Conference Championships, 29 tournament bids, and only 8 schools have more tournament bids and final fours than Arkansas.

I said they had great tradition. I didn't once say they had been doing good recently but only a fool would think Arkansas isn't a top job in the country to take. A&M isn't even a top 100 program. How many final fours has A&M ever had?

I don't honestly understand why you're getting so personal with this but you need to take it easy. Arkansas is a good job, and they need a big name coach to come in. I don't find it hard to believe that Gillispie would take it.

[TidesHoss32]

:thumpsup: excellent post

Here is Arkansas basketball tradition. Even the non biased rankers know it..>>LINK

8th best program all time in college basketball according to Smith and Streets rankings. Six Final Four appearances, a place that holds over 20,000 people, 7 SEC Tournament Championships, 22 Southwest Conference Championships, 29 tournament bids, and only 8 schools have more tournament bids and final fours than Arkansas.

I said they had great tradition. I didn't once say they had been doing good recently but only a fool would think Arkansas isn't a top job in the country to take. A&M isn't even a top 100 program. How many final fours has A&M ever had?

I don't honestly understand why you're getting so personal with this but you need to take it easy. Arkansas is a good job, and they need a big name coach to come in. I don't find it hard to believe that Gillispie would take it.

[alfus21]

He's sticking at Texas A&M. Agreed in principle to a new extension. Looks like it's tough going for schools looking for new coaches this year.

[Doc Holliday]

Looks as if the Uk job is causing a lot of programs to anounce extensions.

[rallo316]

he did sign extension.

[TomSportsHack]

He's sticking at Texas A&M. Agreed in principle to a new extension. Looks like it's tough going for schools looking for new coaches this year.

And this is why I call Texas A&M ATM. Yeah, sure ... that's what's on the football helmets. But ATM = automated teller machine = push buttons, get money.

And that's what the coaches at ATM do --- push boosters' buttons, get money. He will become the highest-paid coach in the Big XII, according to reports out of Texas, and Arkansas AD Frank Broyles is backpedaling like a bicyclist who's come face-to-face with a 20-foot crocodile (same link).

22 mill for a practice facility, 2 mill per year for the coach ... See? Push buttons, get money.

Too bad the newspaper biz doesn't work like that.

[knottcobred]

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/big12...b409d.html

I could warm up to Gillispie if Donovan falls through, real fast. Writer of the article says Billy G waiting for the Kentucky job to be decided.

[TomSportsHack]

Gillispie told the Worldwide Leader In Sports last night at the college dunk show that he was confident his deal at College Station would be approved. :confused:

[TomSportsHack]

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/big12...b409d.html

I could warm up to Gillispie if Donovan falls through, real fast. Writer of the article says Billy G waiting for the Kentucky job to be decided.

Writer was wrong.

RASHA MADKOUR
Associated Press

COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Texas A&M's Billy Gillispie has agreed to a new contract that makes him one of the highest-paid coaches in the Big 12.

Texas A&M spokesman Alan Cannon said Gillispie wouldn't sign the deal - approved by regents Friday - until he returns next week from the Final Four in Atlanta.

Gillispie, who was courted by Arkansas and has been mentioned as a candidate for the Kentucky opening, would get a $500,000 raise to $1.75 million. Big 12 leader Rick Barnes of Texas makes $1.8 million. Kansas' Bill Self, who was Gillispie's boss at Tulsa and Illinois, makes $1.6 million.

"While it's embarrassing to me to be compensated so well to perform my passion for a school I love, I am sincerely appreciative of the efforts of ... everyone associated with Texas A&M for their personal support they continue to show," Gillispie said in a statement. "We will continue to do our best to try and make the Texas A&M family proud."

The 47-year-old Gillispie took the Aggies to the NCAA tournament's round of 16 this year for the first time since 1980. A&M was just three years removed from finishing 0-16 in the Big 12.

"I am so proud of Billy and the job he has done here at Texas A&M," athletic director Bill Byrne said in a statement. "With this contract, I believe coach Gillispie is among the top 10 coaches in terms of income, and he is clearly a top 10 coach in every other way."

Speculation about Gillispie's future heated up when Arkansas fired Stan Heath on Monday and athletic director Frank Broyles said a day later that he had offered the Razorbacks' opening to a coach he wouldn't name. By Thursday, though, A&M officials were telling their counterparts in Arkansas that Gillispie was staying.

Kentucky is looking for a coach after Tubby Smith took the Minnesota job. Speculation has centered on Florida coach Billy Donovan, a former Wildcats assistant who is two wins from leading the Gators to their second straight national title.

Gillispie is 70-26 in three years with the Aggies, who were 7-21 with the winless conference record the season before he arrived. He took over the Aggies after engineering a quick turnaround at UTEP, which went from 6-24 his first season to 24-8 and a near-upset of Maryland in the NCAA tournament. His five-year record is 100-58.

"We look forward to coach Gillispie being here for years to come," regent John White said. "Billy Gillispie and A&M are a great fit."

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity...001280.htm