Frank Haith has been tapped as the new head coach of Tulsa on Friday, leaving Missouri to guide the Golden Hurricane's shift to the American Athletic Conference.
The hiring was quick, as the 48-year-old was contacted only on Thursday. He said he was interested in leading Tulsa to compete against other AAC heavyweights like newly-crowned national champion UConn and teams such as Cincinnati and Memphis.
Haith told the Associated Press via ESPN: "It's truly a blessing, There's no question that Tulsa's move into the American Athletic Conference was a big part of making the decision to come here. The strength of this league is phenomenal. It's a basketball league."
Haith will replace Danny Manning, who will coach Wake Forest after spending two seasons in Tulsa.
Steadman Upham, president of Tulsa, said that the impressive track record of Haith was the main reason they pried him away from Missouri. Haith has a record of 205-129 in a decade of coaching at Miami and Mizzou. Eight of those 10 years included postseason trips, and he also has experience in leading schools to transitions. Missouri shifted to the SEC in 2012 while Miami moved to the ACC in 2004.
Although he was a successful bench tactician, Haith has his shares of postseason failures. In the 2011-12 season, the second-seeded Tigers lost in the round of 64 to lower seed Norfolk State after an impressive 30-5 record. The Tigers also lost in the round of 64 last year. Mizzou failed to qualify in this year's NCAA tournament.
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