Unfortunately for Louisiana Tech fans, the rumors of the past 24 hours are true.
The University of Tulsa and Louisiana Tech both announced within the last 30 minutes that Eric Konkol will be the next head coach for the Golden Hurricane.
“I want to thank Eric for the job he has done serving as our men’s basketball coach over the past seven years,” said Tech Director of Athletics Eric Wood in the release issued by the Tech Athletics Department. “He ran a first-class program that was highly competitive on and off the court.”
Konkol was hired away from Miami in 2015 after the departure of Mike White to Florida. He now leaves Ruston as the third winningest coach in the history of the Bulldog program with an overall mark of 153 wins and 75 losses.
Konkol led Tech to 20 or more wins in six of seven seasons, including 24 victories in each of the past two years. He guided Tech to the 2021 Conference USA West Division title and a Final Four appearance in the NIT.
As a result, he garnered numerous awards including C-USA Coach of the Year, NABC District 11 Coach of the Year, LABC Louisiana Major College Coach of the Year and LSWA Louisiana Coach of the Year. He was also a finalist for the Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year Award.
Konkol followed that up with 24 wins this year and an appearance in the Conference USA Tournament championship game.
Tech is scheduled to return the nucleus of its team as only fifth-year seniors Amorie Archibald and Exavian Christon are done with their collegiate eligibility.
“Although we are sorry to see him leave, we wish him and his family nothing but the best moving forward. We are excited about the future of Bulldog Basketball and we will work diligently to find the right person to lead our program.”
According to the press release, a national search will be conducted for the next head coach although no definitive timeline was provided.
