Texas Tech hires coach Grant McCasland after NIT title
North Texas head coach Grant McCasland motions to his players during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Wisconsin in the semifinals of the NIT, Tuesday, March 28, 2023, in Las Vegas. Credit: AP/John Locher
Grant McCasland was hired as Texas Tech’s new coach Friday, a day after North Texas won the NIT title to wrap up the school’s first 30-win season.
North Texas was 135-65 in six seasons under McCasland, who has a master’s degree from Texas Tech. The Mean Green were 31-7 this season, which came a year after they had first broken the school record by winning 25 games.
During his time on the Lubbock campus while getting his master’s degree, McCasland served as Texas Tech’s director of basketball operations for coach James Dickey from 1999-2001. That was after McCasland got his undergraduate degree from Baylor, where he was listed as a 5-foot-9 walk-on player who got into 47 games over four seasons. He later was an assistant coach for the Bears.
The 46-year-old McCasland replaces Mark Adams, who announced his resignation from his alma mater shortly after Texas Tech finished its season 16-16 with a loss in the opening round of the Big 12 tournament on March 8. Adams was suspended by the school from that game after making racially insensitive comments toward one of his players the previous week.
While Texas Tech’s inquiry determined that Adams’ comments were unintentional and an isolated incident, the coach said he stepped down because he and the university felt the incident had become a distraction for the program.
