Tubbs to Step Down After Season
11/5/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 5, 2001
Men's basketball coach Billy Tubbs announced the 2001-02 season would be his last at TCU. His announcement came at a news conference this afternoon prior to the Horned Frogs first exhibition game of the season.
Tubbs, who took over the TCU program in April of 1994, owns a career coaching record of 579-282 in 27 seasons as a head coach, including a 140-80 mark in seven campaigns in Fort Worth. He earned Coach of the Year honors eight times in four different conferences and was the National Coach of the Year in both 1983 and 1985. He has logged 18 20-win seasons, recorded eight conference titles and three conference tournament titles, taken 12 teams to the NCAA tournament and another six to the N.I.T. and reached the NCAA finals in 1988 with Oklahoma. His best season at TCU came in 1997-98, when he lead the Frogs to a perfect 14-0 record in the WAC and finished with a 27-6 record and a final ranking of 15th in the Associated Press poll. Three of his TCU squads have led the nation in scoring.
"Billy Tubbs has been a major force in college basketball and a master teacher of the game," said TCU Director of Athletics Eric Hyman. "His teams have won conference championships, major tournaments and have played in the NCAA Final Four. He has had winning teams over an extended period of time while being recognized as a very colorful coach.
"Timing is important when building athletic programs, and for TCU, it is now time to face and shape a new era in college basketball," continued Hyman. "As the University begins its affiliation with Conference USA, we will be planning new initiatives in TCU basketball. We appreciate the service Billy Tubbs provided by putting TCU on the national basketball map."
The following is the transcript of Coach Tubbs' press conference:
"Thank you for coming out. We've had a lot of rumors floating around. There is a lot of speculation on a day-to-day, year-to-year basis for the past three years. For pretty much the last three years, it has been speculated that every one would be my last year (as head coach at TCU). The rumors have continued to persist, so what this press conference is all about is to end all the rumors concerning Billy Tubbs.
"Last year a story was run the day after the season was over that was kind of the crowning blow as far as I was concerned. That particular story quoted me as saying that I would be back this year as head coach at TCU, but quoted a 'sources ' as saying that I would not. Obviously that was not true, but because of the continuous rumors like that which I don't believe have allowed me to function in the way that I would like to function at TCU, and because that in April I will meet the retirement requirements at TCU, I have chosen to go public with the fact that I will not be the head basketball coach at TCU next year.
"I will serve this year out to the very best of my ability. I am very excited about this team and feel that we can do a great job with this team, but I will not return as the head coach at TCU next year.
"Do not confuse this with something like 'Billy's going out to pasture' or that I'm going to quit coaching. I'm still fired up about coaching this team. I also feel like I have some good coaching years ahead of me if the right situation comes along. This does not mean that I will not be coaching next year or even gainfully employed in something else. It just means that I will not be the coach at TCU.
"I want to put an emphasis on the fact that I am still excited about coaching. There is no question in my mind that I will as enthusiastic as I go through this year as I have been in any other year. Hopefully, I will do a better job. I am not burnt out. I've been burnt out in my career before, but that has not been the case at TCU and is not the case now. I've never had the chance to burn out at TCU because usually you get burnt out after being in a conference for too long, and that couldn't possibly be the case here after being in four conferences already. I'm even a little sorry that I won't be around to be in Conference USA for very long. Certainly going into Conference USA would energize anybody, so I promise I will try my very best this year.
"One of the reasons that I'm doing this at this particular time is because I want to end all speculation about Billy Tubbs, to take the burden off of my players and coaches, so we can go ahead and do the best job we can and not worry about all the rumors. No matter if we win 10 or 30 games this year, I will not be the head coach at TCU next year. So, the issue is now no longer a rumor and can no longer be speculated about.
"This isn't something that I just came up with today. It is something that I've been looking at for quite some time. At one point during this past summer, I thought I might have just checked it in right then. But I asked myself then 'Could I be enthusiastic about this team and this season?' and the answer was yes. I don't ever want to walk out on my players and coaches. I have an obligation to them, so I will not walk out on them and leave them high and dry. So, by doing this now, it gives all of my players, my coaches, myself and TCU an opportunity to plan ahead.
"There are many people I would like to thank here at TCU. The list could go on and on, so I won't name everybody. I really appreciate the people who brought be here and everyone here who has given me this opportunity. I have enjoyed my time here and have had a lot of fun. Fort Worth is a great place to live and TCU is a great place to coach. I have no regrets about coming to TCU. I'm proud of our program. There is nobody who could be more disappointed in some of our shortcomings than me. I expect to go to the NCAA Tournament every year. Our expectations are very high, but we've also had a lot to overcome, such as changing conferences. These are the seven most successful year TCU has had in basketball, as we have had four of the school's nine 20-win seasons and we have had some truly outstanding men in this program. So I am proud of what we have done.
"This will continue to be an outstanding basketball program. These young players have great futures and will be a great foundation for TCU basketball. I have always left programs in good shape, and I believe that TCU will be no different.
"So, now we can all concentrate on TCU basketball on a game-to-game basis. I am very happy and excited as is our players and coaching staff, and we're all ready to have a great year."
Why make the announcement now?
"I just felt that it was the right time. I have gotten some very good advice and decided that the time to do this was now. I wanted to announce this before the season began because I wanted all the rumors to go away so we could concentrate on basketball.
"The rumors kill recruiting. I'm been on the defensive when I have to constantly explain my situation, and to be successful at recruiting, you have to be on the offensive. Other coaches who are recruiting against us will bring up the rumors. Sometimes we can overcome that, sometimes we can't. The questions about my staying at TCU has not allowed us to produce the way we want, so I wanted to put an end to them."
What did you say to your players?
"I told them that I am committed to them, now and beyond this year. I told them the 'why' and the 'where' of my decision. Things are not happening right now which allow me to get the program to where I want it to go. This is a good program, but it is the right time for me and for TCU for me to move on, so I told them that. I'm still very committed to them. I think they're alright with it.
What will you do next?
"I'll do what I want to do. I'll do whatever tickles my fancy, whether it be coaching or playing golf every day. I have a lot of opportunities, so things that I'm considering right now. It's nothing definite, I don't have a time frame, but I have the opportunity to do what I want to do."
On reports of decision being based on differences with administration:
"I would classify that as another rumor. It is a rumor that has circulated. I am not doing this to point fingers here or there. I am responsible for this decision. I do not hold anyone else responsible.
"We are going to have differences with people because we are human beings. But, that does not mean that there are people that I don't like here or that those differences cannot be overcome. I am here because of a decision that I made, not because of anyone else.
"I am an employee. Management has a game plan, and as an employee I have to fit that game plan. But, no, the reason that I came to this decision is not because of what that report says. It is a rumor."
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