Xavier hiring Richard Pitino: Musketeers move quickly, hire New Mexico coach after Sean Miller's departure

Xavier athletic director Greg Christopher flew to New Mexico on Tuesday to try and convince Lobos men's basketball coach Richard Pitino to be the next coach of the Musketeers.

He got it done.

On Tuesday night Pitino accepted, sources told CBS Sports. 

Xavier announced the deal late Tuesday night.

"Xavier is one of the great brands in all of college basketball," Pitino said in a statement. "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."

The six-year deal came together over the course of the day, and Pitino was wooed to the gig despite being in contact with VCU, Villanova and West Virginia in recent days, according to sources. In fact, VCU had Pitino at the top of its list. Once Pitino turned down VCU, that program pivoted and is hiring Bryant's Phil Martelli Jr., sources told CBS Sports.

Richard Pitino will now coach in the same league as his father, Rick, who will be in Year 3 next season at St. John's. Both were knocked out of the second round of the NCAA Tournament on consecutive nights this past weekend, but they made history by becoming the first father and son to win tourney games in the same season. 

Sources said that Rick and Richard will welcome the rare opportunity to coach against each other. That's backed by the fact that the two scheduled a game at Madison Square Garden this past season, with St. John's beating New Mexico 85-71.

In 13 seasons as a Division I coach, Pitino's career record is 247-186.

Pitino is succeeding Sean Miller, who abruptly left Xavier for a second time, opting to take the Texas job on Sunday. That came with a lot of blowback.

Sources said the circumstances surrounding Miller's messy exit wound up affecting Charleston coach Chris Mack's candidacy. He would have been a two-time hire at the school, just like Miller was when he was brought back in 2022. But unlike Miller, Mack spent nearly two decades of his life at Xavier -- and is the winningest coach in program history.

"Poorly handled," said one connected source to Miller's departure.

It's the first time in generations Xavier has made a hire in men's basketball that didn't have a direct connection to the university. 

Sean Miller hired by Texas: Longhorns move quickly, bring in Xavier coach to replace Rodney Terry

Matt Norlander

Pitino went at 88-49 in the Mountain West while at New Mexico and participated in the past two NCAA Tournaments. As a No. 10 seed, the Lobos upset Marquette in the first round before losing to second-seeded Michigan State 71-63 on Sunday. He previously coached at FIU and Minnesota, spending eight years at the latter and taking the program to NCAAs in 2017, when he earned Big Ten Coach of the Year honors, and in 2019. 

Pitino was fired by Minnesota after the 2020-21 season but quickly resurfaced at New Mexico. The Lobos were 13-19 in his first season before winning a combined 75 games over the last three seasons. Under his watch, UNM won the Mountain West tournament title in 2024 and won the league's regular season crown this year, led by Mountain West Player of the Year Donovan Dent.

Hours before Pitino's commitment to Xavier, Dent went into the transfer portal. It's to-be-determined whether or not one of the best guards in college basketball will follow his coach to the Big East.