Sports
Former Arkansas State Coach interviews with UAPB
By Jeremy Muck/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF
Tuesday, March 25, 2008 9:07 AM CDT
Former Arkansas eeState head coach Dickey Nutt has interviewed for the vacant head coaching position at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.
Nutt, who resigned at ASU on Feb. 19, was 189-187 in 13 seasons at ASU. He was the school’s second-winningest coach behind John Rauth. In his 13 seasons at ASU, Nutt led the Indians to the NCAA Tournament in 1999. Nutt led ASU to the 2007 Sun Belt Conference West Division title and to the conference championship game, where the Indians lost to North Texas.
The 48-year old Nutt spent eight years as an assistant at ASU before being hired as head coach in 1995. His older brother Houston is the head football coach at the University of Mississippi after he resigned at Arkansas in November after ten seasons.
Nutt confirmed Monday afternoon that he met with UAPB Athletic Director Louis “Skip” Perkins and Chancellor Lawrence Davis. Since his resignation on Feb. 19, Nutt has also interviewed with Jacksonville State and Mercer.
“This is my first contact (with UAPB),” Nutt said. “I was able to visit with Skip today and Dr. Davis. I had a real enjoyable visit with them with my wife.”
Nutt and his wife Cathy have three children, Logan, Lucas, and Lexis. Logan Nutt recently completed his first season at ASU. Lucas Nutt is one of the state’s top guards in the Class 6A at Jonesboro High School in Jonesboro and will be a senior next year.
On Monday, Perkins said that he has received 22 applications. Of the 22 applicants, there are several current Division I head coaches and current assistant coaches, including a few from the Southwestern Athletic Conference, that have applied for the job at UAPB.
“It’s going very good, man,” Perkins said of the coaching search. “We’ve got a whole host of applicants. We’re starting the interviewing process right now.”
Perkins added that UAPB is “right on schedule” and that he and Davis will be interviewing for a few more days.
“You don’t want to make a rush decision,” Perkins said. “I’ll make a recommendation to Chancellor Davis.”
The unemployment process for Nutt has been an excruciating one.
“Right now, the single most important thing is that I’m unemployed,” Nutt said Monday. “It’s a difficult time, there’s no question about that. I’ve been a coach for 25 years now and all of a sudden you’re unemployed now. It’s different. I believe that maybe there’s a plan out there somewhere. I’m weighing all of my options. I don’t feel like I’m above anyone.”
UAPB is currently looking to replace Van Holt, who resigned after six seasons last week. Holt led the Golden Lions to the 2006 Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament championship game and took UAPB to the semifinals of the last two SWAC Tournaments. UAPB was 13-18 in 2007-2008, losing to eventual conference champion Mississippi Valley State in the semifinals of the SWAC Tournament.
The Nutt family has ties to southeast Arkansas. Nutt’s father Houston, who passed away in 2005, was originally from Fordyce. But Nutt is not concerned with his family’s ties to the region. He’s more concerned with trying to find a job first.
“I don’t know that we’re looking at it like that,” Nutt said. “At the end of the day, we’re just basketball coaches. Right now, we’re looking at it from different options.”
If Nutt is hired at UAPB, he will bring instant credibility to a program that has never won the SWAC Tournament. In the meantime, though, Nutt is a free agent looking to find a place to roam the sidelines next winter.
“I think it’s a long ways off before we can talk like that,” Nutt said. “Right now, we’re weighing all of our options. I have tremendous respect for Skip and Dr. Davis. Right now, the single thing I can bring to a program is experience. With 13 years as a head coach in the Sun Belt Conference, hopefully someone can look at that.”
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