Billy Gillispie placed on temporary administrative leave at Tarleton State

A familiar face is allegedly in some hot water in the Western Athletic Conference, Billy Gillispie placed on temporary administrative leave at Tarleton State as the school investigates a complaint, The Field of 68 has learned.

Associate head coach Glynn Cyprien will take over as acting head coach. Cyprien was an assistant under Gillispie during their time together at Kentucky.

ESPN was the first to break the news, adding that “no details of the nature of the complaint were immediately available, and there is no timeline on how long the investigation may take.”

Gillispie, who has led the Texans to a 78-74 record over five seasons in Stephenville, just signed a contract extension in March 2024 after first arriving ahead of the 2020-21 season.

The 65-year-old from Abilene, Texas was at Kentucky from 2007-09, along with other stops at UTEP (2002-04), Texas A&M (2004-07), and Texas Tech (2011-12). After leaving Tech, he was at Ranger College at the junior college level from 2015-20.

Gillispie has dealt with controversy and health-related issues on multiple occasions, including allegations of player mistreatment and DUI arrests. He was fired at UK after being deemed “not a good fit,” as Mitch Barnhart described it.

He’s racked up 226 wins in his coaching career, 40 coming during his time in Lexington. He went 18-13 in his first season at Kentucky in 2007-08, followed by a 22-14 finish in 2008-09, which finished with a loss in the NIT. He had gained traction with the Texans over the last several years during their transition from Division II to Division I, including runs to the CBI and CIT, headlined by a 25-10 record in 2023-24 that saw his team finish second in the WAC.

Now, ahead of his sixth season with the program, his future at Tarleton State is in question.