Tarleton State basketball coach Billy Gillispie put on temporary leave after anonymous complaint

Tarleton State placed men’s basketball coach Billy Gillispie on temporary administrative leave after receiving an anonymous complaint, vice president of intercollegiate athletics Steve Uryasz said in a statement Friday.

Tarleton State said it initiated an employee conduct review and will not comment further on the matter. Associate head coach Glynn Cyprien was named acting head coach while Gillispie is on leave.

No other details on the anonymous complaint are known at this time.

Gillispie, 65, has coached Tarleton State for five seasons and amassed a 78-74 record. The Texans will open their regular season at SMU on Nov. 3.

During his career, Gillispie has led five programs, taking three to the NCAA Tournament — UTEP (2004), Texas A&M (2006, 2007) and Kentucky (2008). The Wildcats fired him in 2009 after they failed to reach the tournament for the first time in 17 years.

Six months later, Gillispie entered a substance abuse program in Houston following his third arrest for drunken driving in 10 years.

He returned to coaching at Texas Tech ahead of the 2011-12 season but resigned in September 2012, citing health concerns. Gillispie’s resignation came weeks after Texas Tech announced it would investigate allegations of mistreatment of basketball players. The Red Raiders later admitted to practice rules violations under Gillispie.

Across 13 seasons and five schools, Gillispie has a 226-182 record.

(Photo: Chris Jones / Imagn Images)