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| (From Tuskegee athletics web site) |
Only four months after a historic appearance in the Division II mens basketball Elite Eight, Tuskegee basketball coach Leon Douglas has resigned.
Douglas, the Division II Clarence "Big House" Gaines College Basketball Coach of the Year, stepped down Wednesday.
In a statement on the Tuskegee website, school officials said they had offered Douglas a contract that would have made him the highest paid coach in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Apparently that wasn't good enough.
"I appreciate Coach Douglas' commitment to Tuskegee basketball," said athletic director Curtis Campbell. "We had a very successful season and I wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors."
Douglas, a former star at the University of Alabama, was 118-114 in eight seasons at Tuskegee. His teams won SIAC tournament titles in 2010 and 2014, claiming appearances in the NCAA Division II basketball tournament in both seasons.
This past season, the Golden Tigers finished 21-12 and advanced to the school's first Elite Eight ever. They fell to Metro State 106-87.
Tuskegee's search for a new coach begins immediately, while Douglas becomes a hot commodity on search lists around the country.
