DALLAS- Former USC men’s basketball head coach Andy Enfield has left California for the Hilltop. Enfield was welcomed to the SMU community today in the Miller Event Center at Moody Coliseum. SMU Director of Athletics Rick Hart announced the hiring.

“Coach Enfield is enthusiastic about joining the Mustang family and the (Atlantic Coast Conference),” Hart said in a press release. “He has a strong track record of building winning teams on the court and in the classroom and pursuing championships with integrity. We believe he is a game changer for SMU men’s basketball.”

In his first statement to the media as the SMU head coach, Enfield was ecstatic about the new opportunity.

“It is an incredible time for the university as we enter the ACC,” Enfield remarked. “We will make Mustang fans and the city of Dallas proud and cannot wait to get started.”

Enfield boasts a successful career from his most recent run at USC, acquiring a 220-147 record in 11 years as head coach and reaching the NCAA tournament six times in 10 possible seasons (the 2020 tournament was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic). He is the third-winningest head coach in USC history, behind Sam Barry’s 260 wins and Forrest Twogood’s 251.

Before his time at USC, Enfield was the head coach of the 2013 Cinderella team Florida Gulf Coast University. FGCU, a 15-seed in the tournament, rose to the Sweet Sixteen after defeating second-seed Georgetown and seventh-seed San Diego State.

SMU President R. Gerald Turner expressed his high expectations for SMU’s forthcoming membership into one of the five elite athletic conferences.

“With the investments the University and its donors have made in support of SMU basketball, we are charging confidently into the ACC,” President Turner said. “With all that our campus and community have to offer, we believe we are well-positioned to compete alongside the nation’s best programs.”