Mizzou welcomes new men’s basketball coach

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Mizzou Athletics welcomed former Cleveland State head coach Dennis Gates to the Tiger family, after the University of Missouri Board of Curators approved the hire on Tuesday morning.

UM System President Mun Choi said the hire goes towards his overall goal of bringing a championship culture to Mizzou.

"When we hired Desiree Reed-Francois, our athletics director, she said that excellence must be the expectation and I believe that," Choi said. "That has to permeate throughout the entire University."

Gates said he is no stranger to program, as MU icon Norm Stewart recruited him as a high school senior in Chicago. Although he didn't chose Mizzou as a player, he added that everything comes full circle.

"My dream is to become a national champion," Gates said. "My dream is to become a hall of fame coach."

WE WILL HAVE MORE FROM DENNIS GATES' INTRODUCTORY NEWS CONFERENCE THROUGHOUT THE NIGHT ON ABC17 NEWS AT 5, 6, 9, AND 10.