Chico Potts has been reinstated as Mississippi Valley State’s head men’s basketball coach.
That news came down on Monday, four days after the coach was found not guilty of a misdemeanor charge of domestic abuse in Leflore County Justice Court.
Potts didn’t return messages left on his cell phone, but he did release this statement through Jennifer Freeman, MVSU’s interim director of communications and marketing: “I am thankful the legal process has concluded and look forward to returning to my responsibilities as head men's basketball coach at Mississippi Valley State University. I look forward to working with the students and fellow coaches as we prepare for the upcoming season.”
Potts had been on indefinite suspension with pay pending the completion of the school’s investigation into his arrest.
Potts, 37, was arrested around 10:30 p.m. on July 2 after three members of the MVSU Police Department were dispatched to the coach’s on-campus home following a 911 hang-up call.
According to the incident report by campus police, Potts’ wife, Kimberly Potts, 40, also an employee at MVSU, said she had been struck in the head by her husband. She had a bruise on the left corner of her forehead.
Coach Potts, however, denied to police that he had struck his wife. He said, according to the police report, that she had thrown some hot food off the stove at him and he had grabbed her “to keep her from further escalating the matter.”
Freeman confirmed on Monday that Kimberly Potts was still employed at the school.
In his first season at the school in 2012-13, Potts guided the Delta Devils to a 5-23 record, including a 5-13 mark in the SWAC.
Potts replaced Sean Woods, who led Mississippi Valley State to the NCAA tournament’s First Four before losing to Western Kentucky in March 2012.
After leading the Delta Devils to a 21-13 record, including a 17-1 mark in the SWAC that season, Woods left to become head coach at Morehead State.
Contact Bill Burrus at 581-7237 or bburrus@gwcommonwealth.com. Follow on Twitter:@Bill_Burrus.
