Fran McCaffery hires longtime associate Billy Taylor as Hawkeyes' assistant

IOWA CITY — Billy Taylor, a former head coach at Ball State, Lehigh and Belmont Abbey, has been named an assistant coach of the Iowa men's basketball team.

Taylor had been on the same staff as Hawkeyes head coach Fran McCaffery on three previous occasions, including as Iowa's director of basketball operations from 2014-16.

Taylor replaces Andrew Francis, who left after nine years at Iowa to become an assistant coach at California.

'We are excited that Billy Taylor is rejoining the Hawkeye basketball family," McCaffery said in a release. "Billy is the perfect fit for our team. He knows our program well, and has a wealth of coaching and recruiting experience. Billy is one of the most genuine and respected coaches in our profession. He will have an immediate impact with his passion for the game, and commitment to mentoring our student-athletes on and off the court.'

'I am humbled and honored to rejoin Coach McCaffery's staff at the University of Iowa,' Taylor said. 'My relationship with Coach McCaffery spans 30 years and continues to evolve with each step.'

Taylor and McCaffery were Notre Dame assistant coaches during the 1998-99 season and went to UNC-Greensboro when McCaffery became the head coach there in 1999. He was head coach at Lehigh from 2002-2007 and Ball State from 2007-2013. He spent the last three seasons coaching Division II Belmont Abbey.

This is the first change to McCaffery's Iowa coaching staff. The coming season will be his 10th on the job. Kirk Speraw and Sherman Dillard are the other assistants. Like Taylor, they are former Division I head coaches.

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