Belmont has hired Lipscomb's Casey Alexander as its next head coach, the school announced Wednesday.
Alexander played at Belmont and was an assistant under Rick Byrd for 16 seasons, until 2011. Byrd retired last month after 33 seasons and 805 wins.
"It's an honor and a great privilege to have the opportunity to return to Belmont," Alexander said. "I'm grateful that [president] Dr. [Bob] Fisher and [athletic director] Scott Corley believe I'm the right person to lead this incredibly successful program. The experiences gained over the last eight years have shaped and impacted me greatly, and I return to Belmont far better positioned to lead.
"This will always be Coach Byrd's program, in my mind," Alexander continued. "So nothing will motivate me more than to make him proud and honor his legacy. We have a history of sustained excellence at Belmont, and everything is in place to build upon recent successes and make new history. We're ready to get to work."
Alexander has been at Lipscomb for the past six seasons, leading the Bruins to the NCAA tournament in 2018 and a 29-8 record and Atlantic Sun regular-season title this past season. Alexander won 72 games over the past three seasons, highlighted by a 35-9 record in the league over that time.
Lipscomb lost to Liberty in the Atlantic Sun championship game and did not hear its name called on Selection Sunday, but Alexander led the Bruins to the NIT title game before falling to Texas.