Mike Bibby, a 14-year NBA veteran and former Sacramento Kings star, has been named the new men’s basketball head coach at Sacramento State, the school announced Tuesday.
Bibby replaces Michael Czepil, who served as interim head coach for the 2024-25 season.
“I’m ecstatic to announce Mike Bibby as the new head coach of Sacramento State men’s basketball, and welcome him back to the community of Sacramento,” athletic director Mark Orr said in a statement. “Mike will recruit talented student-athletes and develop a team culture that embodies success both on and off the court. I am convinced that Mike will pour every ounce of his energy into Sacramento State and engage the entire Sacramento region. I could not be more excited about the future of our program.”
Bibby said he is excited to return to the city where he experienced much of his professional success as a member of the Kings.
“Since 2001, Sacramento has felt like home to me,” Bibby added in a statement. “The people, the fans and the passion they have for the city and their teams is unmatched. I have always felt that passion, and will always be thankful for how I was embraced. Sacramento State is no different. … We are going to build, we are going to develop, and we are going to win.”
Bibby’s agent, Tyler Glass of CSE Talent, negotiated the agreement with school officials in recent days, sources told ESPN.
The university is slated to open a new basketball facility on campus next fall. Sacramento State president Luke Wood, an alum and the youngest president ever appointed in the California State University system, has been aggressive in his approach with the athletic programs — and the hiring of Bibby continues that.
Bibby previously spent six years as a coach at Shadow Mountain High School in Phoenix, where he played on the school’s first state championship team as a student in 1996 before competing for two seasons at the University of Arizona. He led the Wildcats to the 1997 NCAA championship as a freshman.
Bibby was drafted by the Vancouver Grizzlies the next year. He played for several teams over his NBA career from 1998 to 2012, averaging 14.7 points, 5.5 assists and 3.1 rebounds in 1,001 games. His most successful NBA stint came with the Kings from 2001 to 2008, which included one Western Conference finals berth, two West semifinal runs and averages of 17.6 points, 5.4 assists and 3.2 rebounds in 476 regular-season games.
As a high school coach, Bibby guided Shadow Mountain to four consecutive state championships, winning a total of five over his run from 2013 to 2019.
Sacramento State went 7-25 this season under Czepil, who was promoted last spring after David Patrick left to take a job as associate head coach at LSU.
The Hornets had gone 28-42 in two seasons under Patrick, and the program has never made an NCAA tournament since moving up to Division I in 1991-92. The Hornets have posted a winning record only twice since then, going 16-14 in 2019-20 and 21-12 in 2014-15.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
