Billy Kennedy
Billy Kennedy (born February 2, 1964)
Teams coached: Centenary Gentlemen, Southeastern Louisiana Lions, Murray State Racers, Texas A&M Aggies
Centenary record: 24-34 (.414)
Southeastern Louisiana record: 80-92 (.465)
Murray State record: 107-53 (.669)
Texas A&M record: 150-116 (.564)
Overall record: 361-295 (.550)
Career Accomplishments:
- NCAA National Championships: 0
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 4 (2005, 2010, 2016, 2018)
- NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen: 2 (2016, 2018)
- NCAA Tournament Final Four: 0
- NIT Championships: 0
- NIT Appearances: 2 (2011, 2015)
- CBI Appearances: 1 (2014)
- SEC Regular Season Champion: 1 (2016)
- Ohio Valley Regular Season Champion: 2 (2010, 2011)
- Southland Regular Season Champion: 2 (2004, 2005)
- Ohio Valley Tournament Champion: 1 (2010)
- Southland Tournament Champion: 1 (2005)
Awards:
- SEC Coach of the Year: 1 (2016)
- Ohio Valley Coach of the Year: 2 (2010, 2011)
- Southland Coach of the Year: 1 (2004)
Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):
| 2020-2023 | Wichita State (asst) |
| 2011-2019 | Texas A&M |
| 2006-2011 | Murray State |
| 2005-2006 | Miami (FL) (asst) |
| 1999-2005 | Southeastern Louisiana |
| 1997-1999 | Centenary |
| 1993-1997 | California (asst) |
| 1991-1993 | Creighton (asst) |
| 1990-1991 | Texas A&M (asst) |
| 1989-1990 | Tulane (asst) |
| 1988-1989 | Northwestern State (asst) |
| 1987-1988 | Wyoming (asst) |
| 1986-1987 | New Orleans (volunteer asst) |
| 1985-1986 | Southeastern Louisiana (student asst) |
Billy Kennedy Facts
- William Joseph Kennedy, Jr.
- Born February 2, 1964
- Hometown: New Orleans, Louisiana
- Alma Mater: Southeastern Louisiana University (BA, 1986)
- Started coaching career in 1985 as an assistant to Newton Chelette at his alma mater, SE Louisiana
- Spent the next eleven seasons with various programs as a Division I assistant
- Worked under Art Tolis, Benny Dees, Dan Bell, Perry Clark, Kermit Davis, Rick Johnson, Todd Bozeman and Ben Braun
- Head coach at (now Division III) Centenary for two seasons, winning 24 games during that time
- Returned to Southeastern Louisiana in 1999 as the Lions’ new head coach; led his alma mater to two Southland titles and one trip to the NCAA Tournament (2005) in six seasons
- Spent one season as an assistant to Frank Haith at Miami (FL)
- Hired as the head coach at Murray State in 2006, coaching the Racers for the next five seasons
- Left in 2011 after back-to-back Ohio Valley titles and postseason bids
- Became head coach at Texas A&M in 2011, coaching the Aggies in their final season of Big 12 play and into SEC play
- Reached the Sweet 16 in 2016, only the fourth appearance in school history, and returned to two seasons later in 2018
- Was fired in March 2019 after eight seasons in College Station, leading the Aggies to the postseason four times (two NCAA, one NIT, one CIT)
- In November 2020, just before the start of the season, Kennedy joined the Wichita State staff as an assistant under interim head coach Issac Brown; stayed with the Shockers for three seasons in total
Billy Kennedy Coaching Tree
- Amir Abdur-Rahim (South Florida, Kennesaw State)
- Roman Banks (Southern)
- Glynn Cyprien (Memphis Hustle, Iowa Wolves)
- Kevin Johnson (Southern, Centenary)
- Kyle Keller (Stephen F. Austin)
- Dusty May (Michigan, Florida Atlantic)
- Alex Lloyd (Bowdoin)
- Steve Prohm (Murray State, Iowa State)
- Rick Stansbury (Western Kentucky)
- Brooks Thompson (UTSA)