Rick Ray named new coach at Southeast Missouri State

It didn't take Rick Ray long to find a new home. The former Mississippi State coach returns to the mid-west after Southeast Missouri State announced Ray as its new men's basketball coach.

The school's athletic director Mark Alnutt introduced Ray on Monday afternoon.

Ray spent the last three seasons at Mississippi State. He compiled an overall record of 37-60. He was fired on March 21. MSU hired Ben Howland three days later.

Ray becomes the 20th head coach in program history. Southeast Missouri State will pay Ray a base salary of $175,000 over a four-year span, plus a $20,000 annuity. Additional incentives and contract details are being finalized.

The head coach earned $1 million a year at Mississippi State. He's still owed a portion of money he was due in the final two years of his contract at MSU.

Ray is the first African-American head coach in the 108-year history of Southeast Missouri State. He'll debut in the Ohio Valley Conference after beginning his career in the mid-west.

Ray's coaching career started as a graduate assistant at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. He played for Grand View College in Iowa.

Prior to assistant coaching stints at Clemson and Purdue, Ray coached in the Missouri Valley Conference at Indiana State for seven years (1997-2004). Following his time at ISU, Ray spent two seasons (2004-06) as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Northern Illinois.