Rick Stansbury promoted to associate head coach

Rick Stansbury will remain on the bench in Aggieland next season, and not in Alabama.

Following reports that new Tide coach Avery Johnson had reached out to the A&M assistant about making a lateral move to Tuscaloosa, the Aggies on Thursday night announced, "No sir."

Here is the release from the Texas A&M Athletic Department regarding Stansbury's promotion:

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COLLEGE STATION, Texas — The Texas A&M men’s basketball program announced Thursday that Rick Stansbury has been elevated to the position of associate head coach.

“Rick has made a huge impact on our program in a very short time,” Texas A&M head coach Billy Kennedy said. “His experience in coaching, recruiting and all areas has been a huge benefit. There were several opportunities that presented themselves to Rick recently, and I’m very pleased he’s made the commitment to our program to stay with us.”

Stansbury joined the A&M basketball staff prior to last season and helped propel the Aggies to a 21-win campaign, the 14th 20-win season in program history. Additionally, Texas A&M finished tied for third place in the final SEC standings and received the 20th postseason tournament bid in school history, posting a second-round showing in the NIT.

“My family and I are very grateful to be a part of Texas A&M and this community,” Stansbury said. “I’m very appreciative for the opportunity that Coach Kennedy has given me to be a part of his staff and the support that he and the Texas A&M administration have shown me. I have so much respect for Coach Kennedy as a coach but more importantly as a person. I’m committed to helping him and his staff fulfill the goals we have set for the program and I’m looking forward to being a part of what we all believe will be a very exciting season next year.”

No stranger to winning in the SEC, Stansbury spent 22 seasons at Mississippi State before coming to Aggieland. The 2004 Associated Press SEC Coach of the Year, Stansbury served the last 14 years of his time in Starkville as head coach (1999-2012), compiling a 293-166 (.638) record while guiding the Bulldogs to the postseason 11 times, including six NCAA appearances. His 293 wins are the most all-time among MSU head coaches while also ranking ninth in SEC men’s basketball history.

During the final 12 seasons of Stansbury's tenure at Mississippi State, the Bulldogs won more games than any other SEC program except Kentucky and Florida. Additionally, MSU averaged 21 wins per season, won 20 or more games in 10 seasons and claimed the 2004 SEC regular season championship and five SEC West Division titles.

Postseason success was also commonplace under Stansbury’s guidance as the Bulldogs reached the finals of the SEC Tournament four times while claiming the league’s tournament title in 2002 and 2009. Under his watch, MSU claimed five NCAA Tournament victories and reached the NIT semifinals in 2007.

Stansbury has also spent time at Austin Peay (assistant coach – 1985-90), Cumerland [KY] (graduate assistant – 1983-84) and Campbellsville [KY} (student assistant – 1981-82) during his coaching career.