After 10 seasons on the Hilltop and 39 seasons of college coaching, SMU Head Coach Tim Jankovich announced his retirement today.
“It has been an honor and a privilege to have coached at SMU for the past ten years,” said Jankovich. “I am grateful to Dr. Turner and Rick Hart for their support and leadership. I am also grateful to all the outstanding players, coaches, managers and support staff I have had the opportunity to work with along the way.
“Basketball has been at the center of my life since the 8th grade, including 39 years in college coaching. I have loved and cherished every minute of it. But with those incredible memories has come tremendous sacrifice. I find myself at a stage in life where I no longer can in good conscience make the necessary sacrifices that this position demands. I feel a strong pull to spend more time with the people whom I have unfortunately neglected the most over the years – my dad, my family and my friends. This is why I have decided to step down and retire from my position as head basketball coach. We have loved our time here at SMU and will cherish our memories forever.”
“I am grateful to Tim for his loyal service to SMU. He elevated Mustang basketball on and off the court during his time on the Hilltop. Tim led our program with class, integrity and a commitment to our institutional values. He and his staff are tremendous coaches and have earned my admiration and respect,” said SMU Director of Athletics Rick Hart. “On behalf of SMU, I want to thank them and their families for their years of service to our University.”
As head coach, Jankovich went 125-64 (.661) over six seasons, recording the second-highest winning percentage in SMU history, with eight wins coming over AP top-20 ranked teams. His teams went 86-18 (.827) at Moody Coliseum, marking the highest home winning percentage in program history, and twice finished the regular season undefeated at home. The Mustangs won their first 36 games at Moody Coliseum with Jankovich as the head coach, which is the second-best home start in NCAA history. His 2016-17 team won 30 games, the most in school history, were crowned AAC regular-season and conference tournament champions and reached the NCAA Tournament. He also led SMU to the 2021 and 2022 NITs and had five players make the NBA (Semi Ojeleye, Sterling Brown, Feron Hunt, Shake Milton, Ben Moore), with three selected in the NBA Draft (Ojeleye, Brown, Milton).
While he was an assistant, the Mustangs won The American regular season and AAC Tournament titles and played in the NCAA Tournament in 2015. SMU also reached the NIT in 2014.
Overall in his tenure, the Mustangs garnered four AAC Player of the Year honors (Nic Moore 2014-15, 2015-16; Semi Ojeleye in 2016-17, Kendric Davis in 2021-22) and 19 All-AAC selections, the most in the league. The program was in the AP Top 25 in four of the seasons, ranking as high as No. 8, and received votes in the AP Top 25 in eight seasons.
“Now, we turn towards the future and are embarking on a national search for our next head coach,” said Hart. “With a rich tradition, passionate and generous supporters, tremendous facilities, a great gameday environment, and a world-class university located in Dallas, Texas, there will be strong interest in this opportunity.”
https://smumustangs.com/news/2022/3/22/mens-basketball-jankovich-announces-retirement.aspx
