Memphis hiring Texas Tech coach Tubby Smith, per sources
— -- Texas Tech coach Tubby Smith has agreed to be the men's basketball coach at Memphis, sources told ESPN's Jeff Goodman.
A Texas Tech official told ESPN's Andy Katz that Smith called Red Raiders athletic director Kirby Hocutt to tell him he was accepting the Memphis job.
Smith had three years remaining on his contract at Texas Tech and is obligated to pay a $900,000 buyout to the school.
Memphis is replacing Josh Pastner, who left to be the head coach at Georgia Tech last week.
With Smith taking the Memphis job, the American Athletic Conference has added a former national-championship-winning coach in Smith, a former NBA Coach of the Year in Mike Dunleavy ( Tulane) and former Stanford coach Johnny Dawkins ( Central Florida) in the past few weeks.
Smith, 64, received the John R. Wooden Legends of Coaching award Friday in Los Angeles. He is one of two coaches, along with Lon Kruger, to lead five schools to the NCAA tournament.
He coached at Kentucky from 1997 to 2007, leading the Wildcats to the national title in 1998 and 10 straight NCAA appearances. He coached Minnesota to the NCAA tournament in 2013 before abruptly being fired.
He led Texas Tech to the NCAA tournament last month in his third season in Lubbock.
Smith previously coached at Georgia for two seasons and Tulsa for four.
Memphis is considered a top-25 job among college basketball coaches and administrators for its proximity to talent, its facilities and its storied history.
ESPN Stats & Information contributed to this report.
Related Stories
ABC News Live