The University of Missouri Athletics welcomed Cuonzo Martin as the new Men’s Basketball head coach Monday afternoon. MU Students, faculty, and fans gathered to welcome Martin at Mizzou Arena with a “campus celebration.” The introduction was open to the public as MU Athletic Director Jim Sterk introduced Martin to Tiger fans.
“This is a special day for me,” said Martin. “It just feels like home. It’s just one of those days as you begin your coaching career, you start thinking, ‘Will I ever get an opportunity to come coach at a place like Mizzou?’ And now to be home, just up I-70, it’s a tremendous feeling.”
A native of East St. Louis, Illinois, Martin comes to Columbia after serving as head coach at University of California since 2014. While coaching at California, Martin was 62-39 overall. In the 2015-16 season, Martin led Cal to the NCAA tournament as the No. 4 seed. Martin resigned from Cal on Wednesday and was announced as the new MU head coach later that afternoon. Martin comes to MU with more Division I wins than any previous hire by the school. Official terms of the contract were released at the press conference, confirming a seven-year, $21 million contract, making Martin the highest-paid basketball coach in MU history.
“I was excited, when he was at Cal, me and him had already built a relationship when he tried to recruit me there,” said Missouri Point Guard Terrence Phillips. “And obviously I didn’t end up going there, but we had a good relationship and I liked him when he was at Cal and when he was at Tennessee. So I can’t imagine what our program is going to be like for the next few years while I’m here.”
Martin takes over as the school’s 19th head coach after Kim Anderson resigned after just three seasons. Anderson struggled his first two seasons, recording a 19-44 record followed by a 7-23 record this past season.