It’s official. Joe Dooley is the head coach of ECU’s basketball program once again.

News broke Tuesday of Dooley’s verbal agreement with ECU to return to the school he once coached at from 1991-99, including the last four seasons of that tenure as a head coach. The ECU Board of Trustees approved Dooley’s contract in an official capacity on Wednesday afternoon on campus.

A press conference to introduce Dooley will follow on Thursday at 11 am. Dooley signed a five-year contract worth a base salary of $400,000 per year. His total annual compensation in Year 1 will reach $900,000 after Pirate Club and IMG broadcasting ventures are added on top of his base amount, with his total salary set to increase to a mark of $1 million in Year 5 of his deal. Dooley also has several other incentive opportunities where he can cash in.

“Joe’s history with the ECU community and the success he’s had as a coach on and off the court will be a great asset for our men’s basketball program,” Chancellor Cecil P. Staton said. “Not only is he a great recruiter and a great basketball coach, but he also understands the importance of connecting with our alumni, fan base, student body, faculty, and community at large. He also gives proper priority to the academic success of student-athletes. I am delighted to welcome him back to Pirate Nation.”

Dooley arrived to Greenville on a flight from Fort Myers just after 4 p.m. on Wednesday and made his way over to the ECU facilities to officially sign his contract shortly after the Board of Trustees approved the deal in its meeting. Dooley, who was also reportedly in the running for the Rhode Island opening, was one of a few candidates for ECU’s job that at one time included North Carolina Central head coach LeVelle Moton and ESPN analyst Seth Greenberg. But Dooley always seemed like the favorite to get the job from the jump, as word of his interest in the position spread shortly after Jeff Lebo resigned.

Dooley’s second appointment will come 19 years after he was let-go in 1999. Now nearly two decades older, and with 10 years of top-tier assistant coaching experience and two NCAA berths as a head coach at Florida Gulf Coast under his belt, Dooley’s back.

The 52-year-old was arguably the first name to emerge as the man to take the job shortly after former head coach Lebo resigned last November, six games into the season. Dooley previously had a verbal agreement to become the Pirates’ head coach in 2010, but things fell through at the last minute and the job instead went to Lebo.

Now he’s back for sure.

Dooley, Bill Self’s top assistant at Kansas from 2003-13, took the Florida Gulf Coast head coaching job in 2013. Dooley has led the Eagles to 21 or more wins and the postseason all five years in Fort Myers, including two NCAA appearances (2016, 2017) and a pair of NIT berths (2014, 2018).

A native of West Orange, N.J., Dooley’s first stint at ECU lasted from 1991-99. Dooley was an assistant coach under Eddie Payne from 1991-95 before being promoted to head coach at age 29 in 1995. Dooley posted consecutive 17-win seasons his first two years and finished his four-year tenure 57-52 overall, posting a winning percentage of .523, the highest in ECU’s Division I history.

The veteran coach will get the chance to right what many considered a wrong when Dooley was fired by then-AD Mike Hamrick following a 13-14 season in 1999. A young coach in his lower 30s at the time, Dooley went on to spend three years as an assistant at New Mexico and one with Wyoming before joining Kansas in 2003.

Dooley became one of the country’s most widely-respected and sought-after assistants during his time with Kansas, helping to land a number of top-tier recruits. Dooley won a national championship with Kansas in 2008 and made the Elite Eight four times. After being linked to several jobs during his latter years at Kansas, Dooley finally took his second head coaching gig at Florida Gulf Coast in 2013.

The coach met with his players at Florida Gulf Coast around 1 p.m. on Wednesday to inform them of his departure to ECU. During his time with Florida Gulf Coast, Dooley compiled an overall record of 114-58.