MADISON- Bob Jones principal Sylvia Lambert made it official Friday when she announced Luther Tiggs as the next men’s basketball coach at Bob Jones.

The hire was approved at the Madison BOE meeting April 21.

Tiggs is currently the school’s assistant principal and athletic director. He will continue in those roles until the end of the school year. He will then relinquish those roles and become coach/teacher. He will spend the summer working with players in conditioning and allowed practices and play dates.

Lambert said she received 55 applications and interviewed seven. She involved the players in the decision and formed a group panel.

“Coach Tiggs stood out among the best qualified and the players wanted him. They have a lot of respect for him and he was the unanimous choice,” she said.

Tiggs has a career record of 347-161 in three stops as head coach. He last coached in 2014 at James Clemens.

“It’s a great day and I’m so thankful for this opportunity,” Tiggs said. “I will do everything I can to make Madison proud and Bob Jones basketball relevant again.”

Bob Jones suffered through one of their worst seasons ever last year with a record of 5-25. They failed to win an area game for the second straight season.

“Fasten your seat belts because it is going to be fast,” Tiggs said. “I want an aggressive style of play that makes our kids want to be there and want to play and a style that our fans will enjoy watching them compete. We will be one of the best conditioned teams in Alabama, you can hold me responsible for that. I can’t promise championships but I can promise we will compete. I understand what successful programs do.”

“I’ve got a hard job. There will be change in culture and the way we do things. There will be an adjustment for the kids. I want us to compete not just locally and in the area but for state championships. This is my challenge.”

As athletic director Tiggs stayed close to the basketball program. He was at every game. He initiated and organized the Hometown Lenders First Family Mortgage N2Hoops Basketball Tournament hosted by Bob Jones last Nov. 23-25.

“This is not new to me. I am familiar with the kids here at Bob Jones and the expectations of the school and the community,” he said.

Tiggs was head coach at Buckhorn (1994-97), Sparkman (2002-2012), and James Clemens. His 2005 Sparkman team reached the Final Four. He was also an assistant at Decatur (6 years) and Austin (4 years).

His teams won 8 area championships and made regionals 7 times.

“I’ve coached for 25 years and this is a job I always coveted but it was all about timing. This opportunity presented itself, I told the administration I was interested, and I put my name in the hat and I interviewed.”