Frank Haith will be introduced at 10 a.m. as the new basketball coach at the University of Missouri.
Mizzou announced Haith's hiring in a press release last night after the Missouri's Board of Curators approved a five-year contract worth $1.5 million annually with an automatic one-year renewal for the now-former Miami Hurricanes coach. This isn't going to make Tiger fans happy. They are understandably confused and frightened by the hire.
In the press release, Missouri AD Mike Alden tried to calm those fears:
Tell that to your fans who are sitting on the ledge right now. Missouri has also touted that Haith has reached the postseason in five of his seven seasons with the Hurricanes. That sounds impressive until you realize that only once did he make the NCAA Tournament. And he never had a winning season in the ACC."We're very pleased to have such a well-rounded and respected man lead
our basketball program into the future. Frank has demonstrated
throughout his career that he fits the criteria we were looking for.
He's graduated 21 of 22 of his players while at Miami. He is recognized
as one of the top recruiters in the nation, and his Midwest ties fit
very well with what we're needing right now. His entire reputation is
based on building young men of character, and his work ethic is above
reproach.
"Frank has the character and integrity we are looking for, andhe's someone who is very excited to be a Missouri Tiger. And, of
course, we feel that all of these qualities combined, when given the
opportunity at a program with a proud tradition and resources such as
ours at Mizzou, that he's going to win at a very high level."
Winning cures everything. And if Haith wins, then everything will be all right. If not, he may be out the door with Alden."I have always had a tremendous amount of respect for this university
and this program. I coached against Norm Stewart. Mizzou
Arena and the facilities here are first-class. The support of the
students and administration is second-to-none, and the tradition is
outstanding. I'll tell you this Mizzou Nation, we are going to win and
win big!
"Now with that being said, I also understand this is the Show-Me State,"
Haith continued. "Fans want to know that you are just as invested in
them and their program as they are in you. And we will work tirelessly
on the recruiting trail and we will develop first-class young men, not
only with the way they perform on the basketball court, but how they
conduct themselves academically and in our community."
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