Richard Pitino is taking the head coaching position at Xavier, leaving New Mexico after four seasons. An agreement was finalized and announced Tuesday night.
Pitino, 42, will replace Sean Miller, who left the Musketeers to become the head coach at Texas. Miller went 65-40 in his second stint at Xavier with two NCAA tournament bids. The Musketeers lost their first-round game versus Illinois in this month’s tournament.
“Xavier is one of the great brands in all of college basketball,” Pitino said in the school’s official announcement. “It has always been a dream of mine to coach in the BIG EAST. The Cintas Center is going to be rocking. I can’t wait to get to work.”
With Rick Pitino now at St. John’s, father and son will face each other at least twice a season in the Big East Conference.
At New Mexico, Pitino compiled an 88-49 record in Albuquerque with two NCAA tournament berths,