University of New Mexico men’s basketball head coach Richard Pitino will be the next head coach at Xavier University.The decision comes after Pitino made back-to-back NCAA Tournaments in 2024 and 2025. The Lobos won the regular season Mountain West title after a 17-3 conference record.Pitino was also named Mountain West coach of the year earlier in March. He will replace Sean Miller, who led the Musketeers to a 185-87 record in three seasons. UNM were able to advance to the round of 32 after defeating Marquette, 75-66. Their postseason run came to an end after a narrow eight-point loss to Michigan State.The Lobos secured an automatic bid in the NCAA Tournament in 2024 after winning the Mountain West conference tournament. Pitino held a record of 88-49 during his four years at New Mexico.Pitino came to UNM from the University of Minnesota, where he coached for eight seasons. The announcement was made on Tuesday, March 25.UNM Director of Athletics Fernando Lovo issued a statement reflecting on Pitino's tenure with the Lobos."Lobo Nation,Earlier today, Head Men's Basketball Coach Richard Pitino informed me that he has accepted an opportunity to continue his coaching career at another university," Lovo said. "For more than a month, we have been engaged with Coach Pitino and his representatives in extensive contract discussions and made an extremely aggressive retention offer - reflective of our commitment to him, his staff, and our basketball program. Ultimately, Coach Pitino made a personal decision to pursue a new opportunity."We are grateful for Coach Pitino's leadership, dedication, and tremendous contributions to Lobo Basketball," Lovo said. "His vision and commitment elevated our program to great heights, bringing pride and excitement to our fans, alumni, and university community. While we are disappointed to see him leave, we sincerely wish him and his family all the best."The University of New Mexico remans steadfast in our commitment to excellence in athletics and academics," Lovo said. "While today's news brings change, we have been preparing for this possibility and are moving forward. A national search for our next Head Men's Basketball Coach has already begun, and with our fanbase, tradition, facilities, donors, and alignment, I am confident we will find a dynamic leader who will build upon our strong foundation and our proud tradition."Thank you for your unwavering support and passion for Lobo Basketball," Lovo said. "Together, we look forward to writing the next successful chapter for our program."Go Lobos!"Xavier Director of Athletics Greg Christopher said Pitino is the right fit for the Musketeers moving forward following the head coaching search."We are excited to welcome Richard Pitino as our new men's basketball head coach," Christopher said. "He has proven himself as a winner as a head coach at New Mexico and has an impressive resume of success before that as head coach at Minnesota."His success as an assistant stood out, especially his time working for his father, Rick Pitino, at Louisville and Billy Donovan at Florida," Christopher said. "We had tremendous interest in our head coaching position, it became clear that Richard was the right fit for Xavier to take us to championship success in the Big East and NCAA Tournament."Stay updated on the latest sports news with the KOAT app. You can download it here.