STEPHENVILLE, Texas (AP) — Tarleton State coach Billy Gillispie, who has been away from the bench for more than a month because of medical issues, won't return next season, the school announced Friday.
Glenn Cyprien was named acting head coach on Jan. 30, about two weeks after Gillispie stepped away.
The 66-year-old Gillispie told The Dallas Morning News earlier this month he was dealing with heart and blood-pressure issues that have plagued him for years. The former Kentucky coach had a kidney transplant in 2018, but told the newspaper his kidney was fine.
A rising star in the coaching profession after quick rebuilding jobs at UTEP and Texas A&M, Gillispie was hired by the Wildcats in 2007. He was fired after two seasons when Kentucky missed the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 17 years. He was then out of coaching for two years, during which he spent time in a substance-abuse program after a drunken driving arrest.
Gillispie took the Texas Tech job in 2011, but left after one season and just one Big 12 win. The West Texas native faced accusations of player mistreatment during his time with the Red Raiders.
Tarleton placed Gillispie on administrative leave in October to investigate an anonymous complaint. He was reinstated three days later.
Gillispie was coaching at Ranger College in Texas when he had the kidney transplant. He took the Tarleton job two years later as the school was transitioning to Division I and was on his second contract with the Texans when the medical issues arose this season.
Gillispie missed the last four months of the 2023-24 season dealing with complications from high blood pressure. His stint at Ranger was interrupted by a brief retirement, when he said he was stepping away on the advice of doctors because of his issues with high blood pressure. The kidney transplant came later.
Tarleton was the longest of Gillispie's five Division I stops. He was 92-89 with the Texans and has a career record of 240-197.
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
Poetry Without Borders 2026 is an annual poetry contest for youth of all ages. It is being j… Read morePoetry Without Borders 2026
“Powerful, moving, and exhilarating” Read moreSongs For A New World
Exclusive film screening in San Mateo Read moreA LITTLE FELLOW: THE LEGACY OF A.P.GIANNINI
LittleFoot said:
guest3dec5e98967d4404df3a16ea said:
Great job!
CA Is Burning said:
CA Is Burning said:
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.