Gottfried introduced as new men’s basketball coach

After weeks of speculation as to who was going to become Sidney Lowe’s successor, Athletics Director Debbie Yow and Chancellor Randy Woodson announced Tuesday night at a press conference in Vaughn Towers that former Alabama coach Mark Gottfried will be named the next head coach for the Pack.

Gottfried has been out of coaching for the last two seasons, working as an ESPN analyst, after resigning from Alabama midway through the 2008-2009 season.

However, the coach has a proven track record as he spent 10 full seasons with the Tide, compiling a 210-132 record, five NCAA Tournament appearances and one SEC title. Gottfried also went to the Tournament in two out of three years with the Murray State basketball program.

“I am excited, extremely excited to be here today,” Gottfried said. “This is a great place, you have great tradition here at North Carolina State and I am very familiar with it and understand it.”

And the new head coach understands the expectations that many Pack fans have for this program and the job he is now tasked with.

“I know where you want to go,” Gottfried said. “I know where you want to be. It’s to play for a National Championship and be involved with the NCAA Tournament. That is my passion.”

The Gottfried hiring was announced less than 24 hours after Yow sent out a somewhat depressing e-mail to Wolfpack Club members, updating them on the coaching search. In Yow’s e-mail she said a few possible coaches didn’t work out and began using words like “revival” and “rebuilding,” referring to the basketball program.

However, less than a day later, Yow’s attitude seemed to have made a 180 degree turn as she feels confident that she found the right person for the job.

“Coach Gottfried has the qualities we value at State and what I call ‘the stuff,'” Yow said. “He is a builder of basketball programs, having led two collegiate programs to national prominence, including taking the University of Alabama to a No.1 national ranking.”

“He has a fiery attitude and a can-do spirit and that is exactly what State needs in this time in our program,” Yow said.

That fiery attitude was evident early on in the press conference, especially when Gottfried was asked what he thought about competing against national powerhouses like Duke and North Carolina on a daily basis.

“I am not backing down from anybody here. We want to win,” Gottfried said. “This is a great league and whatever those challenges or obstacles are, you have to overcome them. You have to beat them and be better than those obstacles. So for us, whatever the challenges may be here, you need to look them dead in the eye and say ‘we are going to go after it.'”

Gottfried will make $1.2 million over five seasons, with a possible two-year contract extension if he takes the Pack to the NCAA Tournament in either of his first two seasons.

Prior to the hiring, Yow and Gottfried had a relationship dating back to when Gottfried was just 18 years old, playing basketball at Oral Roberts, where Yow coached women’s basketball. And both agree it was that relationship that allowed this deal to come together so quickly.

“I had difficulty believing that Mark wanted to leave broadcasting to come back into coaching. But once that become clear and a reality, I knew that I wanted to talk to him,” Yow said. “It is a tremendous advantage to me having known him since he was 18 and following his whole career.”

Over the course of the search, Yow has taken a lot of flack, as many rumors are flying around about her being hard to work with. But for Gottfried, it was Yow being at State that made him want to leave the sports desk behind.

“I had a great job,” Gottfried said. “I was working six months a year and just calling games, so for me to leave that, it had to be right. I have had other opportunities the last two years, but the reason that I am sitting right here today is Debbie Yow.”

The 47-year-old coach was named the SEC Coach of the Year by the Associated Press in the 2003-2004 season after leading his team to the Elite Eight. Also, Gottfried led his team to two SEC West division titles and won the SEC Tournament once.

Before arriving at Alabama, Gottfried coached at Murray State University for three seasons, becoming the first ever coach to win the Ohio Valley Conference Championship in each of his first three seasons. There, he compiled a 68-24 record, including taking Murray State to the NCAA Tournament twice in three seasons, before taking the Alabama job.

Prior to his coaching career, Gottfried played basketball first at Oral Roberts — where he was named a freshman All-American — and later transferred to Alabama. In three seasons there, he finished as the school’s all-time leader in three-point field-goal percentage.