“Red Raider Nation, let’s go win some championships. Wreck ’Em.”
Just like that, Grant McCasland — adorned in a red Texas Tech 3/4 quarter zip pullover — boarded a private airplane set to fly him to Lubbock via a video posted on official Texas Tech men’s basketball Twitter account.
McCasland, the head men’s basketball coach at North Texas the past six seasons, was hired to the same position to lead the Red Raiders program. On Thursday, the 46-year-old led the Mean Green to a 68-61 win over Alabama-Birmingham to help UNT finished with a 31-8 overall record and secure the program’s National Invitation Tournament.
Land Grant: Texas Tech chooses UNT’s McCasland to lead men’s basketball program
McCasland signed a six-year contract, worth a little more than $18 million, according to an official with knowledge of the deal.
“I want to thank President Lawrence Schovanec and Athletics Director Kirby Hocutt, and the committee for the opportunity to coach at Texas Tech,” McCasland said in a Texas Tech news release sent Friday. “The commitment and vision for Texas Tech has no limits and we look forward to loving our team everyday with a greater purpose. We will strive daily for excellence in every aspect of our program, do things the right way, winning championships that values relationships throughout. Our family looks forward to joining the Red Raider nation and can’t wait to get started in Lubbock.”
McCasland is expected to make a brief visit to Lubbock on Friday, to meet with the current Texas Tech players before returning to Denton for the weekend. He is scheduled to be formally introduced at 4 p.m. Monday inside United Supermarkets Arena. The event, which is open to the public, will include remarks from Texas Tech President Lawrence Schovanec, Athletic Director Kirby Hocutt and McCasland.
“We’re excited to welcome in the next era of Red Raider Basketball under the leadership of Coach McCasland,” Hocutt said in a Texas Tech news release sent Friday. “This position received tremendous interest nationally as we firmly believe this program is one of the best jobs in college basketball. Our search committee was immediately impressed not only by Coach McCasland and his ability to win at every level of college basketball, all while creating a positive culture built upon toughness, but also his passion for Texas Tech and his vision for our basketball program. We are pleased to welcome Coach McCasland, his wife, Cece, and their entire family back home to Texas Tech.”
A four-person search committee — which included Hocutt, Tech University System Board of Regents member Dusty Womble, former player Norense Odiase and football coach Joey McGuire — and TurnkeyZRG executive search firm were tasked with finding the new head coach.
“You only need to watch five minutes of his game film to realize he motivates his players to play hard,” Womble said in a news release. “If you watch a few minutes of their postgame interviews, you develop an appreciation for the great relationships he has built with his players. I couldn’t be happier to have Grant leading our program.”
Odiase, a starter in his senior season on the Tech team that reached the championship game of the 2019 NCAA Tournament, also liked the conviction of McCasland.
“What impressed me most about Coach McCasland is his vision and expectations. He talked about winning championships. That was important for me to hear because we have a standard of excellence at Tech that will not be lowered,” Odiase said in a news release. “For him to embrace it and say that was important to me. He wants it more than he’s afraid of it. I think it gets everyone involved when a leader has that expectation from the first day. He talked about the community and building relationships. How that was really important to him. Getting everyone involved. He understands the position and West Texas. He knows the grit and toughness that we have. I like a lot about him and know that he is a leader who is competitive and hungry because of the vision he has. I’m excited about the tenure under him.”
A former director of basketball operations at Tech from 1999-2001, McCasland return to take over a program following the March 8 resignation of Mark Adams, in the midst of a suspension and inquiry related to his interactions with his players and staff.
More:Texas Tech, Adams agree to $4.1 million settlement
Going into the National Invitation Tournament championship game, McCasland was 353-121 in 14 seasons as a head coach at Midland College (2004-09), Midwestern State (2009-11), Arkansas State (2016-17) and North Texas (2017-13). His teams’ average season record during that span is 25-9.
McCasland also was a Baylor assistant from 2011-16 on teams that made the NCAA Tournament four times, finishing in the Elite Eight once and in the Sweet 16 once.
One of McCasland’s mantras is the “toughest team always wins.” That mentality, coupled with a defense-first approach, is what endeared the Red Raiders to West Texas during Chris Beard’s and Adams’ NCAA Tournament runs from 2018 to 2022.
It worked more than a week ago as the Mean Green defeated Oklahoma State 65-59 in overtime in a National Invitation Tournament quarterfinal game in Stillwater. Texas Tech dropped both games to the Cowboys this season and have not won a game inside Gallagher-Iba Arena since 2019.
Late Thursday night, North Texas defeated Alabama-Birmingham 68-61 in the NIT championship game.
The 46-year-old turned the Mean Green into a force at the mid-major level, amassing 20-win campaigns in five of his first six seasons in Denton. That included a program-defining victory over Purdue in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in 2021.
After a deep run in the NIT, McCasland inherits a young and talented Texas Tech squad searching for its identity with question marks about which players will return. The only known is Kevin Obanor, a senior who exhausted all of his eligibility.
More:Texas Tech men’s basketball transfer portal tracker: Fardaws Aimaq, Robert Jennings II make decisions
Utah Valley transfer Fardaws Aimaq announced he would enter his name into the NCAA transfer portal and was followed by Robert Jennings II. Elijah Fisher and KJ Allen also officially entered their names.
McCasland, during his playing days ,was a 5-foot-8 guard from Irving who made the Baylor team as a walk-on.
He won an NJCAA championship at Midland. He coached in the Western Junior College Athletic Conference against Adams, then coaching at Howard College, and Steve Green, then coaching at South Plains College.
While serving as the Tech basketball program’s director of operations under then-head coach James Dickey, McCasland earned his master’s degree and met his wife, CeCe, a former Texas Tech soccer player.
McCasland or the school hiring him owes North Texas a buyout of $750,000 if he leaves before July 1, 2023. The buyout was $1.5 million, but the contract shows that amount is reduced by 50 percent if Wren Baker is no longer the UNT athletics director or employed by UNT. West Virginia hired Baker in late November to be its athletics director.
The buyout is due in 60 days.
Baker hired McCasland in 2017.
Earlier in March, Texas Tech agreed to pay Adams a settlement of $3.9 million, less taxes and withholdings, plus a $200,000 retention bonus.
He won an NJCAA championship at Midland. He coached in the Western Junior College Athletic Conference against Adams, then coaching at Howard College, and Steve Green, then coaching at South Plains College.
