Western Michigan on new basketball coach: 'Vision and leadership unmatched'

Western Michigan officially announced Kahil Fennell as its new head men's basketball coach Saturday morning, following a search that took less than two weeks and ended with the Broncos getting a man that many in the business consider a rising star. Fennell, 43, comes to Western Michigan from University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley , where he's been the head coach for two years at the Southland Conference school. A little over a decade ago, he wasn't even coaching, rather living a lucrative life working in medical-device sales.

“As we set out to find our next head coach, we sought a leader who not only had experience working with some of basketball’s finest programs and coaches, but one who had also led his own program to new heights at the Division I level,” Dan Bartholomae, athletic director at Western Michigan, said in a statement Saturday. "We also sought someone who would be a great community partner as we prepare for the most transformative event in the history of our athletics program. There is no question that Western Michigan University and the entire southwest Michigan community has found that leader in Kahil.

His track record of recruiting, developing and connecting with student-athletes stood out, and his vision and leadership acumen was unmatched. " Fennell takes over the program ahead of next year's opening of a $500-million arena that will house both WMU basketball teams and its national-championship hockey team. He takes over following the firing of DJ Stephens earlier this month .

Stephens, a longtime assistant at Michigan State, was fired after four losing seasons in his first head-coaching stop, let go with two years left on his deal. Fennell flew to Kalamazoo on Friday to see the campus, and on Saturday he signed a five-year contract that will pay him around $400,000 a year to start. The contract works its way up to around $500,000 by Year 5.