Leitao agrees to five-year contract at Virginia

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Posted 5:29PM on Saturday, April 16, 2005

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) DePaul's Dave Leitao has agreed to a five-year contract at $925,000 annually to take over the basketball program at Virginia, university officials said Saturday. Leitao will succeed Pete Gillen, who resigned under pressure after seven seasons and just one NCAA tournament appearance. The Cavaliers were 14-15 last season. The university scheduled a news conference for Sunday afternoon to formally introduce Leitao. DePaul athletic director Jean Lenti Ponsetto had said late Friday that Leitao accepted the Virginia job. ``I look forward to establishing a standard of commitment to excellence that will enhance the life of every student athlete who becomes a member of the Virginia basketball family,'' Leitao said in a press release issued by the Virginia athletic department. Ponsetto commended Leitao on Saturday for his ``tremendous class, integrity and dedication to producing student-athletes.'' He added that DePaul will immediately begin looking for a new coach. Leitao's DePaul teams compiled a record of 58-34 over three years and played in the postseason each year. DePaul was 20-11 last season and advanced to the second round of the National Invitation Tournament. ``DePaul will always have a special place in my heart,'' Leitao said. Leitao, 44, will become the first black head coach at Virginia in any sport, charged with energizing a program about to enter its most ambitious period ever. The school plans to open the $130 million, 15,000-seat John Paul Jones Arena for the 2006 season. ``I have admired Dave's work for a long time, and I'm looking forward to working with him as we enter a new era for Virginia basketball,'' Virginia athletic director Craig Littlepage said in a written statement. Littlepage did not say how much Virginia paid to buy out the final six years of Leitao's contract at DePaul, where he was making $660,000 at year. Leitao's compensation at Virginia will be slightly more than the $900,000 a year Gillen was making. Gillen stepped down with six years remaining on a 10-year contract and received a $2 million buyout March 14. Besides DePaul, Leitao spent two seasons as a head coach at his alma mater, Northeastern, and did two stints as an assistant to Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun, who has sung the praises of his protege to Virginia president John T. Casteen III. Casteen was the president at Connecticut before moving to Virginia. ``Dave is one of the country's most highly regarded young coaches someone I have known and admired since he first joined Jim Calhoun's staff at UConn in 1986,'' Casteen said. ``At this time, as we work to rebuild a program that has enjoyed and richly deserves prominence in the ACC and NCAA, Dave's leadership and example matter in critical ways.'' (Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)