Eric Konkol leaves Louisiana Tech basketball for Tulsa, says he is 'eternally grateful'

Louisiana Tech has begun a national search to replace men's basketball coach Eric Konkol.

Konkol was named coach at Tulsa on Monday night after seven seasons with the Bulldogs.

"Eternally grateful to the #TechFamily, the city of Ruston, and, most of all, our players. Thank you for making our time here so special!," Konkol wrote on Twitter.

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Konkol is the third winningest coach in program history.

Louisiana Tech athletic director Eric Wood offered no timetable on when Kunkel's replacement would be hired.

"I want to thank Eric for the job he has done serving as our men's basketball head coach over the past seven years," Wood said in a school release. "He ran a first-class program that was highly competitive on and off the court. Although we are sorry to see him leave, we wish him and his family nothing but the best moving forward. We are excited about the future of Bulldog Basketball and we will work diligently to find the right person to lead our program."

It's the second major hire for Wood who fired football coach Skip Holtz and replaced him with Sonny Cumbie on Nov. 30.

Konkol, 45, had an 153-75 overall record and was 79-45 in Conference USA. Louisiana Tech finished 24-10 and 12-6 in C-USA this season and lost to UAB in the championship game of the conference tournament.

This article originally appeared on Monroe News-Star: Eric Konkol leaves Louisiana Tech basketball for Tulsa, says he is 'eternally grateful'