Former University of South Dakota men's basketball coach Craig Smith is officially the new head coach at Utah State University.
Smith was introduced by USU officials Tuesday in Logan, Utah. He won 79 games in four seasons at South Dakota. Smith led the Coyotes to appearances in National Invitational Tournament and the College Basketball Invitational.
Smith says he's grateful to USD leaders for his time in Vermillion.
"I want to thank President Abbott at the University of South Dakota, David Herbster, the athletic director, Dave Williams, who was our deputy AD and my direct supervisor for giving this guy his first chance as a head coach at the University of South Dakota. When I took over there, it was a struggle. We had to get through a lot of stuff in terms of their record and culture and some different things, but fortunately for us we were able to do that going 48 and 21 the last two years," Smith says.?
Utah State fired Tim Duryea after a 17-17 record this year. The Aggies have 20 appearances in the NCAA tournament in their history. They are members of the Mountain West Conference.
University of South Dakota officials will conduct a nationwide search to find Smith's replacement.