Arkansas coach Stan Heath was fired this afternoon after leading his team to consecutive 20-win seasons and a berth in the NCAA tournament this season, according to sources close to the Razorbacks program. Heath was informed by Arkansas athletic director Frank Broyles just hours ago and will receive a setttlement in the vicinity of $1 million. According to the same sources, Heath will likely be replaced by Texas A&M coach Billy Gillispie. One source even maintained that Gillispie has agreed in principle and could be introduced as soon as Tuesday. Gillispie has led Texas A&M to a 70-26 record over the past three seasons. The Aggies reached the second round of the NCAA tournament last year and were eliminated in the Sweet 16 this season. Arkansas finished 21-14 this past season and returns nearly everyone while the Aggies lose Acie Law IV and potentially big man Joseph Jones. Arkansas coach Stan Heath was fired this afternoon after leading his team to consecutive 20-win seasons and a berth in the NCAA tournament this season, according to sources close to the Razorbacks program. Heath was informed by Arkansas athletic director Frank Broyles just hours ago and will receive a setttlement in the vicinity of $1 million. According to the same sources, Heath will likely be replaced by Texas A&M coach Billy Gillispie. One source even maintained that Gillispie has agreed in principle and could be introduced as soon as Tuesday. Gillispie has led Texas A&M to a 70-26 record over the past three seasons. The Aggies reached the second round of the NCAA tournament last year and were eliminated in the Sweet 16 this season. Arkansas finished 21-14 this past season and returns nearly everyone while the Aggies lose Acie Law IV and potentially big man Joseph Jones. Arkansas coach Stan Heath was fired this afternoon after leading his team to consecutive 20-win seasons and a berth in the NCAA tournament this season, according to sources close to the Razorbacks program. Heath was informed by Arkansas athletic director Frank Broyles just hours ago and will receive a setttlement in the vicinity of $1 million. According to the same sources, Heath will likely be replaced by Texas A&M coach Billy Gillispie. One source even maintained that Gillispie has agreed in principle and could be introduced as soon as Tuesday. Gillispie has led Texas A&M to a 70-26 record over the past three seasons. The Aggies reached the second round of the NCAA tournament last year and were eliminated in the Sweet 16 this season. Arkansas finished 21-14 this past season and returns nearly everyone while the Aggies lose Acie Law IV and potentially big man Joseph Jones. http://msn.foxsports.com/cbk/story/6612092
That would sure suck for TAMU. I know it's the SEC and all, but why not wait for Kentucky's offer? I'd be willing to bet that Arkansas is still w/o a coach tomorrow. That would sure suck for TAMU. I know it's the SEC and all, but why not wait for Kentucky's offer? I'd be willing to bet that Arkansas is still w/o a coach tomorrow. That would sure suck for TAMU. I know it's the SEC and all, but why not wait for Kentucky's offer? I'd be willing to bet that Arkansas is still w/o a coach tomorrow.
damn you, gucci. i thought i had time to email the article to some friends before posting it here. this is terrible news for A&M. we will sink back into anonymity without him if he bolts.
Heard on the radio it was a done deal. too bad for aggie. I guess he must of thought he had no chance at kentucky. I hope he will do the right thing and tell his players first
no the right things is to haul ass out of college station and stop at the cdc because god knows what he picked up in steerville
I am a student at the U of Ark. I don't think it is a done deal yet, but I think it is a strong possibility. If it happens, i will be pleasantly surprised. Lots of local media are kind of on the fence, saying that it's a strong possibility, but aren't saying it's a done deal.
Gillispie is a good coach for sure. Little known fact- In his second year at UTEP (2003) his team defeated the Harlem Globetrotters 89-88, handing them their first loss in 289 games. That Globetrotters team had beaten both Syracuse and Michigan State in previous exhibitions that year. I don't know if he's going to be the next coach at Arkansas or not, but his name being tossed around out there (at both Arkansas and Kentucy) will act as a leverage for a pay increase should he remain at A&M. My gut feeling is that Arkansas already had some kind of arrangement with him before they even fired Stan Heath for him to become their next coach.
This is far from a done deal, and nothing more than a rumor at this point. BCG may even be using Arkie as leverage for a bigger extension at ATM. If I were him, I'd wait for the Kentucky job to open.
If that happens, what happens to all the incoming aggies? I'm sure people like DeAndre Jordan's decision to come was based a bit on Gillispie's presence...
probably get a opportunity to decommit same thing happened with Kelvin Sampson left OU sucks for Indiana Damion James decommitted and came to UT , Scottie Reynolds another recruit also decommitted and went to Villanova. -King of 40 Acres
haha .. that article has been posted all over the net, but its sources are from an Arkansas message board. The same message board that says BG has been in Fayetteville the past 2 days. Well ... http://blogs.chron.com/aggies/2007/03/gillispie_not_in_fayettevilley.html ESPN's Andy Katz also says that his sources tell him that Gillispie will not leave for Arkansas (Kentucky possibly being a different story). Not saying it won't happen because BG is obviously Arkansas' top choice, the rumors that it was a done deal are just that ... rumors. Remember when Bama had WVU Rich Rodriguez all locked up? Yeah same story here right now. Oh yeah ... do you think Billy might use this as some l-e-v-e-r-a-g-e? You do realize that the A&M board of regents meets on Thursday to figure out what pay raise they want to give him. He would be an idiot right now to say that he will not be going to Arkansas. Again not saying it wont happen, but contrary to Fox Sports "journalism", it is not a done deal and may not have even been discussed with BCG yet.
I dont think he will go to Arkansas, but I have that sick feeling he will be somewhere else next year. I am sure TAMU will offer to name the stadium after him, pay him the most, give him 6 jets, etc... But I dunno... Fingers crossed.
You do know the link you posted is from a blog right? Not saying you're wrong but I'm going to go with Fox Sports before this guy's blog on the Chron.
I'd advise you to check that Fox Sports link out again with an updated and changed story. Check out the quote from the A&M recruit. Fox Sports has a horrible history of printing incorrect stories. From the updated story ... Also heard that Berman on Fox 26 is reporting that Gillispie will not go to Arkansas and is happy in College Station ... Berman = The Truth
I can see him going to Kentucky, but why would he go to Arkansas. that would be step back in his career
Ah, I've been patiently waiting for someone to post this. I'm not saying he's coming to Arkansas by any means, but: ARKANSAS BASKETBALL BY THE NUMBERS 6 Final Four appearances, ninth most in nation 1 national championship 10 trips to Sweet Sixteen, 12th best in NCAA 29 all-time NCAA bids, ninth best in nation 39 all-time wins in NCAA tourn, 12th best 24 all-time conference championships 27 20-win seasons TEXAS A&M BASKETBALL BY THE NUMBERS 0 Final Four appearances 0 national championships 3 trips to Sweet Sixteen 6 all-time wins in NCAA tourn (not 100% sure on this one) 11 all-time conference championship 8 all-time NCAA bids 9 20-win seasons Oh yeah, when A&M set their all time basketball attendance record of 13,187 fans this year . . . Arkansas averaged 2-3,000 more fans per game this season. Arkansas has had something like over 20 games with attendance over 20,000 fans at their games. I'm not 100% sure -- but I believe Arkansas has a slight edge in the all time head-to-head series with A&M in basketball...something like 96 victories for the Razorbacks and 50 victories for the Aggies. In 2005, Street & Smiths magazine ranked Arkansas as a top ten all time college basketball program: http://daresler.net/info/top/basketball-programs/ Where is Texas A&M on that list? Multiple coaches have proven you can have tremendous success in hoops at Arkansas. What about A&M? Learn some history.
I don't think anyone is saying A&M's history is better than Arkansas, but from this point forward, it doesn't mean that Arkansas has more potential. A&M is on the upswing with new arena upgrades, brand new state of the art facilities (that Gillispie brought in), and a great area for recruiting (which they will be able to utilize now that they finally have facilities). I'm not saying A&M is going to be better than Arkansas for the next 20 years, but give up the history spiel. Arkansas is not Kentucky, its not Kansas, its not UCLA, its not Duke, its not UNC. You are just like A&M football. Usually somewhere between good and very good, but you are not a college basketball icon. You Arkansas people remind me of Alabama football when they just couldn't understand why people kept turning them down because they are Alabama. Andy Katz had it perfectly right last night on ESPN. Arkansas' arrogance led them to believe they could just call Gillispie and he'd take the job because they are Arkansas. Not saying he won't decide that's where he will be, but cut the crap because Arkansas is not a place that a coach is going to go just because of their "elite" history because it is anything but. And btw. A&M hired Gillispie away from a university with just as many titles as Arkansas.
