Acuff leaves Lipscomb, takes Samford training job

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.– Lennie Acuff, who coached Lipscomb to 3 straight 20-win seasons and a look in the 2025 NCAA tournament, has been called successor to Bucky McMillan at Samford, athletic director Martin Newton stated Wednesday.Acuff had winning

records in 5 of his six seasons at Lipcomb, with this previous season’s group sweeping the Atlantic Sun regular-season and tournament champions before losing to Iowa State in the NCAA tournament to end up 25-10.

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1 Related The 60-year-old Acuff hails Huntsville, about 90 minutes northeast of Birmingham, and was head coach at Division II Alabama-Huntsville from 1997 to 2019. Lipscomb athletic director Philip Hutcheson said Acuff could not miss the opportunity to return to his home state, where his adult children and extended household live.

“While we are dissatisfied that he is leaving, we understand the attraction of being close to one’s household and we wish him continued success in this new chance,” Hutcheson said.McMillan left Samford on Saturday to take control of at Texas A&M. The Bulldogs were 22-11 this past season with a loss to George Mason in the NIT. They were 99-52 in five seasons under McMillan and drew national notice in the 2024 NCAA tournament when they directly lost to Kansas in the preliminary.