31 years of basketball for Billy Gillispie
March 27, 2009
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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