The University of Mississippi Athletics
Andy Kennedy's Contract Extended Through 2014
4/12/2010 | Men's Basketball
OXFORD, Miss. - On the heels of a 24-win campaign and an SEC Western Division Championship, Ole Miss head basketball coach Andy Kennedy's contract has been extended by two years to run through April 2014, Athletics Director Pete Boone announced Monday.
Kennedy's current four-year deal is the longest allowed by the state of Mississippi.
"Andy has been one of the top SEC coaches in total wins and league wins the last four years," Boone said. "Our program has made considerable progress in being recognized as one of the top SEC teams, having won two Western Division championships since his arrival four years ago."
"I have never been more excited about the future of our program, and I'm thrilled that Chancellor (Dan) Jones and Pete share that excitement," Kennedy said. "Although we realize that there is much work left to do, we are proud of what's been accomplished and feel very good about the direction we are moving."
After returning to his home state by way of Cincinnati, Kennedy has led a resurgence of the Rebel hoops program. In his first four seasons, Ole Miss has amassed an 85-50 overall record, two SEC West titles and a pair of NIT Final Four appearances in New York City. In the four seasons prior to Kennedy's arrival, Ole Miss was 55-63 overall with a 17-47 mark in SEC play and no postseason berths.
This year's team went 24-11 and tied Kennedy's 2008 squad for the second-most wins in a season in school history. Kennedy has now directed Ole Miss to three of the 10 seasons of 20+ victories in program history. He's the second coach at Ole Miss and ninth in SEC history to lead his team to three 20-win seasons in his first four campaigns, while the team's 85-win total fell one shy of the most by a Rebel coaching staff in a four-year span. Kennedy's .630 winning percentage trails only R.L. Sullivan's .647 (1920-25) as the highest of any Rebel basketball coach who has led the program for at least four seasons.
Ole Miss also earned an SEC West title in 2010 by finishing league play with a 9-7 record. It's the second West title for a Kennedy-led squad, as he also directed his inaugural 2007 squad to a championship en route to SEC Coach of the Year accolades.
The Louisville, Miss., native took over an Ole Miss program in 2006-07 that had earned 12 postseason berths in its history up to that point. He has since directed the Rebels to three postseasons in his first four years, just the second coach in school history to do that. Even in the injury-riddled year that the Rebels missed postseason play (2008-09), Kennedy was named a finalist for the Clair Bee National Coach of the Year award for the Rebels' impressive play under the circumstances.
Under the tutelage of the former Parade All-American and UAB standout, Ole Miss has produced six All-SEC selections and an SEC Freshman of the Year/Freshman All-America (Terrico White). The Rebels have been nationally ranked in two different seasons for a total of 15 weeks and put together the longest winning streak in school history (13 in 2007-08). The crowds at Tad Smith Coliseum have been among the best in program history as the Rebels set a school record for home attendance in 2007-08 and have seen eight of the top 16 Tad Pad crowds during Kennedy's watch.
"While success has come on the court during Andy's tenure as our head coach, we are also proud of the academic accomplishments our players continue to make, having achieved over a .970 academic progress rate (APR) in 2008-09," Boone said.
"As a native Mississippian, it is an honor to be the head basketball coach at Ole Miss," Kennedy said, "and I look forward to the ongoing challenge of bringing our program up to the standard of this Great American Public University."
The program's future looks promising as Ole Miss graduates just one senior from the 2010 squad and enjoys the fruits of a brand new $13 million practice facility that it calls its daily home.
