East Carolina Pirates assistant coach Tim Craft will be the new head coach at Gardner-Webb, ESPN.com's Jeff Goodman reported Sunday. Former Garder-Webb head coach Chris Holtmann left the school to become an assistant for the Butler Bulldogs under new head coach Brandon Miller.
Craft was an assistant coach at Gardner-Webb from 2004-07 until leaving to become the director of basketball operations at Auburn under coach Jeff Lebo. Craft served in that role for one season and was then promoted to assistant coach. When Lebo was fired at Auburn following the 2010 season and subsequently hired at East Carolina, Craft followed.
Gardner-Webb was 44-54 in three seasons under Holtmann. Its 21-12 record last season was its best since becoming a full Division I member prior to the 2002-03 season. The Bulldogs' loss in the first round of last season's College Invitational Tournament was their first postseason game in Division I.
More from SB Nation:
• Bois: Dante Hall and the legend of the human joystick
• Tiger Woods is going the wrong way
• Citi Field and the unwelcome new paradigm
• Loads of SEC Media Days coverage, live from Hoover
• The most asked question at Vegas Summer League | Complete coverage