31 years of basketball for Billy Gillispie

1978

Plays basketball at Ranger College

1980

Transfers to Sam Houston State to become a student assistant for the basketball team

1982

Joins Texas State coaching staff as a graduate assistant

1985

Becomes assistant coach at Killeen (Texas) High School

1987

Becomes head coach at Copperas Cove (Texas) High School

1988

Becomes head coach at New Braunfels (Texas) Canyon High School

1990

Becomes head coach at Killen (Texas) Ellison High School

1993

Becomes assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at South Plains Junior College

1994

Makes the jump to Division I at Baylor as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator

1996

Gillispie’s recruiting class ranks as high as sixth in the nation

1997

Joins Bill Self’s Tulsa staff as an assistant. In 2000, the team reaches the Elite Eight and finishes the season ranked No. 9

2000

Follows Bill Self to Illinois where the Illini won back-to-back Big Ten titles for the first time in 50 years

2002

Lands his first Division I head coaching job at Texas-El Paso

2004

Leads UTEP to a Western Athletic Conference Championship, the school’s first in 12 years. He is named a National Coach of the Year finalist

March 2004

Accepts the head coaching position at Texas A&M, taking over after a 7-21 season where the Aggies were winless in the Big 12

2005

Leads Texas A&M to a 21-10 and 8-8 record in the Big 12. He is again named a National Coach of the Year finalist

2006

Leads Texas A&M to its first NCAA Tournament in 19 years with a 22-9 record

2007

Texas A&M makes it to the Sweet Sixteen, defeating Louisville and Rick Pitino in Rupp Arena in the second round

April 6, 2007

Named the sixth basketball coach at UK since 1931

Feb. 22, 2008

Appears at DanceBlue and donates $10,000 to the fundraiser to help fight cancer

March 11, 2008

Named Southeastern Conference Co-Coach of the Year for his 2007-08 season at UK

Jan. 27, 2009

Clashes with ESPN sideline reporter Jeannine Edwards during an interview before halftime of UK’s 85-80 loss at Ole Miss

March 15, 2009

The UK men’s basketball team did not receive a bid to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1991

March 17, 2009

In the NIT, UK beat UNLV 70-60 in the first “real” game in Memorial Coliseum since 1976

March 25, 2009

UK loses 77-67 at Notre Dame in the NIT quarterfinals, finishing 22-14 in the season

March 27, 2009

Dismissed as the head coach of the UK basketball team

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Gillispie out as head coach

Timeline of Gillispie’s career