Xavier is hiring Richard Pitino as its next men’s basketball coach, the school announced Tuesday night.
“We are excited to welcome Richard Pitino as our new men’s basketball head coach,” Xavier athletic director Greg Christopher said in a statement. “We had tremendous interest in our head coaching position. It became clear that Richard was the right fit for Xavier to take us to championship success in the Big East and NCAA Tournament.”
Pitino, the son of Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino, just completed his fourth season as the head coach at New Mexico, which he has led to the NCAA Tournament two years running. The Lobos were eliminated in the second round Sunday with a 71-63 loss to Michigan State.
In 13 seasons as head coach, including stops at Florida International and Minnesota before joining New Mexico, Pitino is 247-186 (.570) with four NCAA Tournament appearances.
He will replace Sean Miller, who is leaving Xavier to take the vacant head coach job at Texas.
This story will be updated.
(Photo: Nick Cammett / Getty Images)
