Texas Tech's Gillispie leaves hospital amid probe

Billy Gillispie called 911 on Friday morning, just hours before he was set to meet with the Texas Tech AD.

Orlin Wagner/AP

LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) -- Texas Tech coach Billy Gillispie was discharged from the hospital on Thursday after a six-day stay amid an investigation into alleged player mistreatment.

University Medical Center spokesman Eric Finley said Gillispie left the hospital sometime after 3 p.m. Thursday. Messages were left seeking comment from Gillispie and athletic director Kirby Hocutt.

Hocutt has said the university is investigating allegations that Gillispie mistreated players.

Gillispie called 911 on Friday morning, just hours before he was set to meet with Hocutt to discuss what the AD had heard from players Aug. 29.

His breathing sounded labored as he told a Lubbock police dispatcher and an EMS operator his address, according to a tape recording of his call obtained Thursday through an open records request. The recording was redacted once Gillispie was transferred to the EMS operator due to medical privacy.

Gillispie told the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal last weekend that he felt like he was having a heart attack or a stroke. He also said he was told his blood pressure was dangerously high and that he has been dealing with stress.

Gillispie is entering his second year as Red Raiders coach. His first Texas Tech team finished 8-23, winning just one Big 12 game.

He was reprimanded in January for exceeding practice-time limits during a two-week period in October. The school penalized the program by reducing the team's practice time by 12 hours and 20 minutes, officials said. An unnamed assistant coach also was reprimanded.

The school reported the secondary violation to the NCAA, which allows 20 hours of practice per week, and the governing body approved the punishment, Hocutt said.

NCAA spokeswoman Stacey Osburn said in an email that the organization does not comment on secondary violations.

When Gillispie was hired by Texas Tech in March 2011, he had been out of coaching for two years after being fired at Kentucky after just two seasons.

He got the Kentucky job after leading Texas A&M to three consecutive 20-win seasons. In his previous coaching stop, he oversaw a turnaround at UTEP in which the Miners tied the NCAA record for most improved team from one season to the next.

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