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Billy Gillispie

Billy Gillispie (born November 7, 1959)

Current position: Head men’s basketball coach (currently on medical leave)
Current team: Tarleton State Texans
Current conference: Western Athletic Conference (WAC)
UTEP record: 30-32 (.484)
Texas A&M record: 70-26 (.729)
Kentucky record: 40-27 (.597)
Texas Tech record: 8-23 (.258)
Tarleton State record: 44-46 (.489)
Overall record^: 192-154 (.555)

Career Accomplishments:

  • NCAA National Championships:  0
  • NCAA Tournament Appearances:  4  (2004, 2006, 2007, 2008)
  • NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen:  1  (2007)
  • NCAA Tournament Final Four:  0
  • NIT Championships:  0
  • NIT Appearances:  2  (2005, 2009)
  • CBI Appearances:  1  (2023)
  • WAC Regular Season Champion:  1  (2004)
  • WAC Tournament Champion:  0

Awards:

Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):

2020-present Tarleton State
2015-2020 Ranger College
2011-2012 Texas Tech
2007-2009 Kentucky
2004-2007 Texas A&M
2002-2004 UTEP
2000-2002 Illinois (asst)
1997-2000 Tulsa (asst)
1994-1997 Baylor (asst)
1993-1994 South Plains JC (asst)
1982-1985 Southwest Texas State (grad. asst)
1980-1982 Sam Houston State (student asst)

Billy Gillispie Facts

  • Billy Clyde Gillispie
  • Born November 7, 1959
  • Hometown: Graford, Texas
  • Alma Mater: Southwest Texas State University (BA, 1983)
  • Played at Graford HS (TX) before going on to attend Ranger College outside of Fort Worth
    • Was a student assistant for head coach Bob Derryberry at Sam Houston State for two seasons
    • Followed Derryberry to Southwest Texas State (now Texas State) in 1982, serving as a grad assistant for three seasons
  • Worked as a high school coach in Texas for the next eight years, including stints at Copperas Cove HS, Canyon HS & Ellison HS
  • Rejoined the college ranks in 1993, spending one year as an assistant at South Plains JC before joining Harry Miller‘s staff at Baylor for three seasons
  • Joined Bill Self‘s Tulsa staff as an assistant in 1997; followed Self to Illinois in 2000 and worked with the Illini for two seasons
  • Got his first collegiate head coaching gig in 2002, taking over at UTEP in his home state of Texas
    • Went 6-24 in his first season but turned the Miners program around quickly, going 24-8 and earning a trip to the NCAA Tournament in year two
  • Moved on to Texas A&M in 2004, winning 21+ games in each of his three seasons with the Aggies and going to one NIT and two NCAA Tournaments
  • After leading the Aggies to the 2007 Sweet Sixteen, Clyde was hired to take over as the head coach at Kentucky
    • Led the Wildcats to the NCAA Tournament in year one and the NIT in year two (despite winning 22 games)
    • Was fired in March 2007 and later sued the school for breach of contract and fraud; after a countersuit, Clyde and UK eventually settled outside of court
  • In 2011, after a few years out of coaching, Clyde was hired as the new head coach at Texas Tech
    • Went 8-23 in his lone season in Lubbock, resigning in September 2012 due to health concerns
  • Returned to alma mater Ranger College in 2015 when he was hired as the head basketball coach and athletic director
    • The program was forced to vacate all 31 wins from the 2015-16 season, Clyde’s first, due to the use of ineligible players
    • Gillispie’s 2018-19 squad finished 31-4 on the season and finished as NJCAA National Runner-up
    • Removing the vacated games, Gillispie is 103-31 with the Rangers
  • In December 2017, Clyde was diagnosed with kidney failure and received a kidney transplant in April 2018
  • Hired in March 2020 to be the head coach at Tarleton State, a return to both Division I and the WAC
    • Through three seasons at the helm, Gillispie is 41-44 overall with one CBI appearance (2023)
    • In November 2023, medical circumstances led to Gillispie taking an indefinite leave from the program

Billy Gillispie Coaching Tree

 

^ overall record includes head coaching positions at the NCAA Division I level only