Tim Jankovich, who has spent the last four seasons as associate head coach and head-coach-in-waiting on the Hilltop, has been named head coach of the SMU men’s basketball program. Jankovich, a veteran of 33 seasons as a coach, takes the reins after Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown announced his resignation Friday morning.
Jankovich, who led the team last season during Brown’s NCAA-mandated suspension, went 9-0 in the lead chair, guiding the Mustangs to wins over Stanford, TCU and Michigan among others. He was also part of the staff that led SMU to the 2014-15 American Athletic Conference regular season and tournament titles as well as an NCAA Tournament berth. Jankovich was involved in the recruitment of all of the members of the current team as well as SMU great Nic Moore, who Jankovich recruited at Illinois State and who then transferred to the Hilltop when Jankovich joined the staff.
He previously was head coach at Illinois State (2007-12) and North Texas (1993-97), and as an assistant or head coach, his teams have won six regular season conference championships and four league tournament titles, made nine NCAA Tournament appearances and have earned eight NIT berths.
“It has been an honor and a privilege to work alongside Coach Brown the past four years. We have shared many great and challenging times together, and he has become a big part of my life,” said Jankovich. “I am grateful to have worked with and learned from one of the legends of our game, and to have formed such a meaningful relationship. I will miss him and am thankful for all that he has done for SMU and for me personally. I am excited about the future of SMU basketball, and I am looking forward to continuing the tradition of excellence we have begun.”
Brown had stepped down earlier Friday morning, ending a successful four-year run on the Hilltop.
“Coach Brown was able to accomplish so much in his four years on the Hilltop, including leading us to our first conference title since 1993. He has left his mark on SMU basketball, and we are thankful for what he’s done,” said SMU Director of Athletics Rick Hart. “As Director of Athletics, I’m also thankful to the search committee that brought us Coach Brown and for their plan that will allow us such a smooth transition to Tim Jankovich. I have the utmost confidence in Tim based on both his coaching resume as well as my time working with him here on the Hilltop. I know he will keep our program among the nation’s elite, and I look forward to the seasons ahead.”
SMU President R. Gerald Turner also expressed thanks to Brown and optimism for the future.
“We’re thankful for Coach Brown’s efforts here at SMU to rebuild our men’s basketball program and bring the magic back to Moody. His teams brought great energy and excitement to campus,” said Turner. “That said, I believe Coach Jankovich can continue to build upon that success and keep us on that upward trajectory. His experience at SMU has allowed him to build trust and relationships with our student-athletes as well as our campus and local communities, which will give him a head start as he takes over our program. I believe there are more championships in the near future for SMU basketball.”
