Anderson Replaces Snyder as Coach at Missouri

Mike Anderson was hired as Missouri’s basketball coach Sunday, taking over after Quin Snyder’s resignation last month.

Anderson, who led Alabama Birmingham to a 24-7 record and an NCAA tournament appearance this season, is the first black head coach to get the job full time at Missouri, though Melvin Watkins, a Snyder assistant, served as interim coach after Snyder’s resignation. Anderson is also a former assistant to Nolan Richardson at Arkansas and played for Richardson at Tulsa.

As coach at Alabama Birmingham for four years, Anderson had an 89-41 record with three NCAA tournament appearances. Alabama Birmingham lost to Kentucky in the first round this season.

The hiring came on the same day curators discussed but never voted on whether to fire the man who hired Anderson, Athletic Director Mike Alden. Alden had been under fire since Snyder resigned Feb. 10, saying he was told by an Alden associate his job could not be saved.

Missouri, once among the elite programs of the Big 12, struggled in recent years under Snyder. The Tigers (12-16, 5-12 Big 12 in 2005-06) have not been to the NCAA tournament since 2003.