/
.
Pete Gillen Signs 10-Year Contract
Story Links
Oct. 26, 2001
CHARLOTTESVILLE – University of Virginia men’s head basketball coach Pete Gillen has signed a 10-year contract to continue as the head coach of the Cavaliers. The new contract replaces the final four years on his original seven-year contract.
“This represents an institutional commitment that allows us to move forward knowing that Pete will be our coach when we open a new arena,” UVa Athletic Director Craig Littlepage told the Richmond Times-Dispatch on October 25. “This is an understanding of the marketplace and the realities of college athletics in wanting to keep a key person in place.
“Consistent with our desire to become a Top-10 athletic program, we feel having a top-quality coach like Pete Gillen is important.”
The 2001-02 season will be Gillen’s fourth as Virginia’s head coach. The Cavaliers have compiled an overall record of 53-37 during his first three seasons and his teams have compiled an overall record of 327-165 (.665) in 16 seasons as a collegiate head coach. Under Gillen’s direction, Virginia participated in the 2000 National Invitation Tournament and the 2001 NCAA Tournament.
Gillen led the Cavaliers to an overall record of 20-9 and a 9-7 record in the Atlantic Coast Conference during the 2000-01 season. He was one of 20 Division I men’s basketball coaches who were finalists for the 2001 Naismith Men’s College Coach of the Year Award and he was named the 2001 Men’s Basketball Coach of the Year in Virginia by the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
Virginia was ranked in both major polls for all but one week of the 2000-01 season, climbing as high as sixth in The Associated Press poll and ninth in the USA Today/ESPN poll (on five occasions). The Cavaliers finished the season ranked 16th in the final AP poll and 21st in the final USA Today/ESPN poll.
UVa was 6-4 during the 2000-01 season against teams ranked in the AP top 25 poll at game time, including four victories over top-10 opponents and three wins over top-five foes. UVa’s three top-five victories in 2000-01 are the most in one season in school history.
The Cavaliers went 14-1 in University Hall during the 2000-01 season, posting the best home court winning percentage (.933) of any team in the ACC.
In a statement released to media representatives by the Virginia athletic media relations office on October 26, Gillen said, “I sincerely appreciate the school’s great generosity to my family and me. My staff and I will give our best effort to build an elite basketball program at the University of Virginia. I hope you will not place undue emphasis on this, because there are a lot more important things in the world today, like the war on terrorism and finding cures for serous diseases.”