CMU hires Tony Barbee as next men's basketball coach
Central Michigan Men's Basketball Team has found its next coach.
Tony Barbee, an assistant at Kentucky under head coach John Calipari, has been hired as the program's 21st head coach. Barbee replaces Keno Davis, who was 142-143 in nine years at CMU.
"I'm humbled and excited to be the next head coach at Central Michigan University," Barbee said in a press release. "It's been a dream of mine to be in the first chair leading another basketball program, and I'm grateful to President Davies and Athletics Director Amy Folan for their belief in me and their vision."
The news was first reported by Kyle Tucker of The Athletic and confirmed later to Central Michigan Life. The University officially announced the news Friday.
"Coach Barbee met all the criteria we had to find the right individual to re-energize our men's basketball program and get us back to competing for championships," said CMU athletic director Amy Folan. "He is a proven championship-caliber head coach, an elite recruiter who is well-versed n the national landscape and has a strong background in providing a great student-athlete experience on and off the court. I think the responsibility that coach John Calipari gave Tony to help run the Kentucky program speaks volumes."
An assistant under Calipari for the last seven seasons, Barbee held the title of Associate Head Coach. His responsibilities with the Wildcats included game planning and scouting. During his time with the Wildcats, he was a part of four Southeastern Conference regular-season championship teams.
Before coming to Kentucky, Barbee was the head coach at the University of Texas-El Paso and at Auburn. He served as the head man at UTEP from 2006-10, going 82-52 and winning a Conference USA championship in 2010.
He was hired at Auburn on March 24, 2010 and held the position for four seasons, finishing with a 49-75 record. He took the assistant coaching position under Calipari, who he played for at Massachusetts, following the 2014 season.
Barbee has a career head coaching record of 131-127 and is 0-1 in the NCAA Tournament.
As a player, Barbee was a part of two NCAA Tournament qualifying teams at UMASS from 1989-93 and was named to the Atlantic 10 Conference's All-Freshman team. He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant with the program under Calipari, and stayed for two seasons after Calipari left for the NBA.
Barbee was also an assistant at Memphis under Calipari, from 2000-06, before taking the UTEP job.
"The identity of our program will be built on sacrifice, accountability, respect, communication, winning and a family environment," Barbee said in the press release. "I can't wait to engage with both the current student-athletes and the former CMU Chippewas, get entrenched in the Mount Pleasant community and 'Fire Up' our great student section."
