Kyle Smith Accepts Head Men's Basketball Coaching Position at University of San Francisco
3/30/2016 1:43:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Kyle Smith has announced his resignation from Columbia University to become head men's basketball coach at the University of San Francisco, Athletics Director Peter Pilling announced today.
“Over the past six years, Kyle has done an incredible job with our men's basketball program – culminating in last night's championship victory in the Collegeinsider.com Postseason Tournament,” said Pilling. “All of us are proud of Kyle and his team and wish him the best of luck in his new career opportunity.”
“This was an extremely difficult decision. I would like to thank Columbia University President Lee C. Bollinger and former Athletics Director Dr. M. Dianne Murphy for taking a chance on me and giving me the opportunity to be the head coach at such an extraordinary University,” said Smith. “I have been blessed to work with such a great staff and an outstanding group of student-athletes. I also need to thank the men's basketball committee members, Jonathan Schiller, John Vaske, Gene Schatz, Jerry Sherwin and our current administration, Peter Pilling and Joe Quinlan.”
Smith leaves a very strong legacy at Columbia. In six seasons as head coach, he compiled a record of 101-83 overall record, tied for the third most victories by any Columbia head coach, including a school-record 25 wins this season. Under his leadership, Columbia qualified for the CIT (Collegeinsider.com Postseason Tournament) in both 2014 and 2016, winning the championship in his final game at Columbia. The team's 10 Ivy League wins this season were the most by a Columbia team in more than two decades.
In particular, the four seniors the class of 2016 recruited by Smith (Isaac Cohen, Maodo Lo, Grant Mullins and Alex Rosenberg) will graduate Columbia as one of the most successful men's basketball classes in school history. But because of Smith's diligent recruiting, Columbia returns many talented players in 2016-17 who have contributed greatly to the team's success.
Notes Pilling, “Kyle leaves our men's basketball program in tremendous standing – and we expect our team to continue to compete for Ivy League titles and participation in the Ivy League Men's Basketball Tournament in the coming years.”
“This has been an unbelievable experience for me and my family,” adds Smith. “There are so many people that have made our time in New York special, including but not limited to, Darlene Camacho, Ray Tellier, Ajaya Williams, Tommy Sheehan and many others. We have been embraced by the community and we will miss Columbia dearly.”
A national search to name Smith's replacement is underway.
