LUBBOCK, Tex. (AP) — Texas Tech coach Billy Gillispie has resigned because of health concerns, the university said Thursday, ending a disappointing one-year run at a program he had intended to turn into a powerhouse.
The university and fans had hoped that Gillispie, 52, could orchestrate a turnaround like the ones he put together at Texas-El Paso and Texas A&M. Instead, he led the Red Raiders to an 8-23 record last season.
Gillispie did not immediately return a call from the AP for comment.
The move came less than a month after the university announced it was looking into allegations that Gillispie mistreated players last fall.
In January, the university reprimanded Gillispie and the assistant coach Brooks Jennings after a review found the team had exceeded practice-time limits.
Meanwhile, Gillispie’s health was apparently growing worse.
Twice in a 10-day span recently, 911 calls were made from Gillispie’s home. The first, on Aug. 31, led to a six-day stay in a Lubbock hospital.
On Sept. 11, Gillispie left for the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., where he said he received treatment for kidney problems and abnormal headaches.
Gillispie’s first two years as a college head coach were at UTEP in the Western Athletic Conference. He took the Miners from a 6-24 record in 2002-3 to a 24-8 mark the following season.
The conference named him coach of the year in 2004, the same year he was a finalist for the Naismith Coach of the Year award — the first of three times he made the final cut.
