Updated: Purnell leaves Clemson for DePaul
Clemson basketball coach Oliver Purnell has agreed to a $15 million deal to become the next basketball coach at DePaul University, ending a seven-year tenure at the ACC school.
Purnell told ESPN.com this morning he took the DePaul job, after a whirlwind courtship over Final Four weekend, for the challenge of rebuilding a program that has struggled to regain the national prominence it enjoyed up until the 1980s.
"It's a super job,” Purnell told ESPN.com. "They are very, very committed to restoring a tradition and make DePaul Chicago's team.”Purnell, according to ESPN.com, wasn't on any reported DePaul prospective hire lists throughout the winter, as the DePaul has been searching for a coach for three months. Purnell told ESPN.com he was contacted about the job four or five days ago.
Purnell, who came to Clemson from Dayton, has led Clemson to six straight post-season appearances and three straight invitations to the NCAA Tournament. He told ESPN.com his decision did not come from any dissatisfaction at Clemson, but was about the challenge of rebuilding a program.
It is something Purnell was charged with doing at Clemson seven years ago.
“When (Purnell) came to Clemson we had not been to a post-season tournament in four consecutive years,” said Clemson Athletic Director Terry Don Phillips in a statement. “Now we join National Champion Duke as the only ACC schools to play in the NCAA Tournament each of the last three years. We have had a winning record in the ACC three consecutive years, a first in our history, and won at least 20 games four consecutive years, another first.”
DePaul has not distinguished itself since joining the Big East, which over the past decade has been consistently among the top-three conferences in college basketball. Often it has been basketball’s best, sending 8 teams to the NCAA Tournament this year. UConn, Georgetown, Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Villanova, West Virginia and Louisville have all made deep NCAA Tournament runs over the past few seasons.
DePaul has been the conference’s doormat. The school fired Jerry Wainwright mid-season this year. The team posted an 8-23 overall and finished last in the Big East at 1-17. Last year, the school did not win a Big East game.
“On paper, it looks very tough,” Purnell told ESPN.com "But once I evaluated this I saw that this was like a lot of the jobs I've had before Clemson. They were tough jobs as well.”
DePaul is scheduled to introduce Purnell at a 2:30 p.m. news conference, according to the university’s athletic department. His $15 million contract over seven years averages to $2.1 million a year. Purnell earned $1.6 million at Clemson.
Phillips, Clemson’s athletic director, thanked Purnell in a statement. Phillips said the Clemson program is better off after having the Purnell at the helm. Phillips lauded Purnell for winning in a tough ACC, for his family’s contributions to the Clemson outside of basketball and for the team’s graduation rate, which is 78 percent.
“Because of his work, our program is on solid footing and we feel we will attract an outstanding coach to lead this program in the future,” Phillips said. “We will begin our search immediately.”
Oliver Purnell is featured in this installment of our "12 Lives" series
This story was originally published April 6, 2010 at 10:15 AM with the headline "Updated: Purnell leaves Clemson for DePaul."