Tuesday, November 6, 2001

Tubbs to step down after end of season
By Matt Stiver
Skiff Staff

The Texas heat had yet to burn off the early morning fog as men’s basketball coach Billy Tubbs, as he does every morning, fired golf balls into the gloaming from a driving range Monday morning. Nothing had changed, he insists, and nothing will.

“The bad thing is, when I hit them, I could see where they landed,” Tubbs said.

A different sort of heat finally evaporated Tubbs’ coaching tenure at TCU.

Erin Munger/Photo editor Head men’s basketball coach Billy Tubbs announced he would resign at the end of the season in a quickly called press conference. Tubbs said rumors surrounding the program about his job security had finally taken a toll on him.

Citing the effects of rumors and a lack of support from university officials, Tubbs announced his resignation Monday from TCU effective at the end of the 2001-2002 season.

“The primary purpose of this is to end the speculation because of the consistent rumors that haven’t allowed me to function the way I want,” Tubbs said. “Hopefully, I can do a little better job because I’m excited about coaching.”

Athletics Director Eric Hyman has not set a timetable for a coaching search.
“I think right now the focus should be on Coach Tubbs and what he has done to elevate the TCU basketball program,” Hyman said. “He thought this was the appropriate time for this announcement, and I respect his decision.”

The move did not come as a surprise, Hyman said, as he and Tubbs had several discussions dating back several months.

Both Hyman and Tubbs would not comment on the length of Tubbs’ contract, citing privacy clauses within the deal. Neither would confirm or deny that Tubbs is in the final year of his contract.

Rumors of the coach’s demise swirled for most of the past three years. ESPN.com reported Monday that Tubbs would resign following the season.

“Our players can hear and pull up this stuff on the Web,” Tubbs said. “They hear it and see it a lot. It doesn’t drive me up the wall. I can roll with the punches. But when it affects our players, something needed to be done.”

Players said the announcement caught them off-guard.

Senior forward Marlon Dumont, a co-captain on this year’s team, said the younger players will feel the impact more than veterans. TCU has seven underclassmen on its 14-man roster.

“It’s worse for them because they just got here,” Dumont said. “I put myself in their shoes, and I would not be happy about it.”

The split was perhaps driven mainly by the fact that Tubbs had long disagreed with Hyman and Chancellor Michael Ferrari on the role and vision of the basketball program at TCU. Tubbs pushed for improvements to Daniel-Meyer Coliseum and other aspects that would help elevate the program, saying he would take a list to the administration each year. After seeing a lack of action, Tubbs said he stopped that practice three years ago.

“For the past three or four years, basketball has been put on the back burner,” Tubbs said. “With they conference they’re in, they’d better get it off the back burner or they’ll get shellacked.

“One reason I came to TCU was the commitment to basketball, and the facilities have improved to an extent,” Tubbs said. “But TCU still needs to take a hard look at where they want to be in basketball.”

Hyman said TCU remains committed to improving all sports, including basketball, as a part of its three-year plan. The plan included an upgrade on basketball facilities once the John and Marie Lupton Baseball Stadium was constructed, Hyman said.

“We have a plan established, approved with the input of different voices, to accomplish the needs to the program.” Hyman said. “Sometimes not everybody’s on the same timetable, but you have to stick to your gameplan.

“I would like to meet everybody’s needs, but we have a finite amount of resources,” Hyman said. “All coaches fight for their programs. I don’t expect any less. I’d be concerned if they didn’t.”

As part of his Commission on the Future of TCU, Ferrari advocated using athletics to elevate the image of the university. After the football team’s 1998 Sun Bowl win, TCU invested heavily in athletics. The John Justin Athletic Center, for use by all athletes, opened in 2000 after the urging of then-football coach Dennis Franchione.

Junior Bingo Merriex said the next TCU basketball coach should bring the same up-tempo style.

“Coach Tubbs was known for winning,” Merriex said. “We all like his style of play. I wish he could stay here another 10 years.”

Tubbs left Oklahoma in 1993 after leading the Sooners to the NCAA championship game in 1988. Then-Chancellor William Tucker and Athletic Director Frank Windegger brought Tubbs to TCU the following season.

Tubbs’ 140 wins rank second in TCU history, as does his .636 winning percentage. Of TCU’s seven 20-win seasons, Tubbs has four.

However, the Frogs have stumbled in recent years. Despite 38 wins the past two seasons, the Frogs did not qualify for post-season play. Two players were dismissed last year, and several others admitted lapses in concentration.

Yet Hyman said Tubbs’ accomplishments are clear.

“I think all we need to do is look at the state of the program before he got here to understand his impact on college basketball,” Hyman said.

Even with his tenure at TCU up and his golf card full, Tubbs said he still harbors coaching ambitions.

“I’ve always left a program in good shape when I left it,” Tubbs said. “I’m still going to run three miles, shoot 18 holes and get on my wife’s nerves. Don’t take this as Billy Tubbs going out to pasture.”

Matt Stiver
m.r.stiver@student.tcu.edu