After six years on the high plains, Wyoming coach Benny Dees is heading home to greener pastures.
The coach, who has been applauded for leading the Cowboys to NCAA and NIT tournament play and jeered for teams that played .500 ball, announced Monday that he is resigning to take over the Western Carolina program.The 56-year-old Dees, who once said he planned to end his coaching career at Wyoming, admitted he had mixed feelings over leaving his alma mater.
"It is with a great deal of regret that I resign," Dees said in a statement issued by the university. "During the past six years the university has been good to my family and me. I believe at this time a change is good for myself and the university. But I will always be a Cowboy."
Dees' departure raises speculation that his replacement will be BYU assistant coach Charles Bradley, a former Wyoming star. When rumors arose after last season that Dees might be leaving, there was strong support in Laramie for Bradley.
Dees, a native of Mount Vernon, Ga., has a farm not far from Western Carolina, which is based in Cullowhee, N.C. He said the move gives him and his wife a chance "to be closer to our families."
Dees succeeds Greg Blatt, who resigned in February as the Catamounts were falling to a 6-21 record. Western Carolina is a Division I school and a member of the Southern Conference.
Dees will coach the Cowboys through the tournament and then take over the Western Carolina program on April 1.
Wyoming, 13-14 overall and 7-11 in the WAC, has struggled all season, at one point losing 11 of 13 games.