Xavier athletic director Greg Christopher flew to New Mexico on Tuesday to offer Lobos coach Richard Pitino a job.
On Tuesday night, Pitino accepted, sources told CBS Sports. The six-year deal came together quickly, and Pitino was wooed to the job despite being in contact with Villanova and West Virginia in recent days, according to sources.
Pitino is succeeding Sean Miller, who abruptly left Xavier for a second time, opting to take the Texas job on Sunday.
Sean Miller hired by Texas: Longhorns move quickly, bring in Xavier coach to replace Rodney Terry
Matt Norlander
Richard Pitino will now coach in the Big East, the same league as his father, Rick, who will enter next season in Year 3 at St. John’s. The father and son both were knocked out of the second round of the NCAA Tournament on consecutive nights this past weekend, but made history when they became the first father and son to win tourney games in the same season.
Richard Pitino went at 88-49 in the Mountain West at New Mexico and made the past two NCAA Tournaments. As a No. 10 seed, the Lobos upset Marquette in the first round before losing to Michigan State on Sunday. He previously coached at Minnesota and FIU.
After one year at FIU, Pitino spent eight seasons at Minnesota and guided the program to NCAA Tournament appearances in 2017, when he earned Big Ten Coach of the Year honors, and 2019.
Pitino was fired by Minnesota after the 2020-21 season but quickly resurfaced at New Mexico. The Lobos were 13-19 in his first season before winning a combined 75 games over the last three seasons. Under his watch, New Mexico won the Mountain West tournament title in 2024 and won the league’s regular season crown this year.
In 13 seasons as a Division I coach, Pitino’s career record is 247-186.
This story will be updated shortly.
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