Virginia Commonwealth head coach Jeff Capel will leave VCU to become the new head coach at OU.
The decision was announced by Virginia Commonwealth in a release early this morning.
OU will hold a press conference at 3 p.m. today to announce the new coach. The conference will be held in the Class of 1950 Courtyard directly behind Oklahoma Memorial Union. Capel will be at the press conference.
Capel notified his coaches and team Monday morning before leaving for Oklahoma.
He replaces former head coach Kelvin Sampson, who took the same position at Indiana University two weeks ago. Sampson left as the winningest coach in OU history. His .719 winning percentage ranks first in the men's basketball program over former coach Billy Tubbs. The Associated Press named him the Coach of the Year in 1995, as did the National Association of Basketball Coaches in 2002.
Capel, 31, was the head coach at VCU for four years and compiled a 79-41 record. He became the youngest head coach in Division I men's college basketball when he was promoted from assistant coach at VCU in 2002.
Richard L. Sander, the VCU athletic director, said VCU officials know OU is a coveted job.
"We are both sad and happy with Jeff's announcement that he is going to Oklahoma. He did a great job here, and we know he will do a great job there," Sander said.
Capel led the Rams to the NCAA tournament in 2003-04 and to NIT in 2004-05.
He was selected to be an assistant coach along side Manhattan's Bobby Gonzalez for the 2005 USA Men's World University Games Team that was led by Villanova head coach Jay Wright. The team won the gold medal in Ismir, Turkey, in August.
Capel attended Duke and was a four-year starter for legendary head coach Mike Krzyzewski. After graduating in 1997, he played professional basketball in France and the CBA for three years.
Capel's father served as head coach of Old Dominion for eight years. He is currently an assistant coach with the NBA's Charlotte Bobcats. Capel's brother, Jason, played for North Carolina.
Capel, an African-American, will become the only current minority head coach at OU.
Capel's hiring comes during a time when the OU basketball program is under investigation from the NCAA for making more than 550 illegal phone calls to recruits over the past four years.
A hearing is scheduled for April 21 in Salt Lake City to decide whether the NCAA will sanction OU for the violations.
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