The Southeast Missouri State men's basketball program got its 20th coach on Monday when Rick Ray was announced as the team's new coach in a press conference at the Show Me Center.

Ray is the team's first African-American head coach in the program's 108 years and has agreed to a four-year contract worth $175,000 a year plus a $20,000 annuity. The contract has not been finalized because additional incentives and contract details are still being agreed upon.

Ray's previous coaching position was at Mississippi State, where he coached from 2012-2015 and had an overall record of 37-60.

In his three years as the team's coach, Ray never had above a .500 record overall or in the Southeastern Conference.

During Ray's tenure at Mississippi State, the team made it past the first round of the SEC Tournament in his first two seasons, but failed to do so in his last when the Bulldogs lost to Auburn.

Ray is inheriting a similar program at Southeast, which has only made it past the first round of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament four times in the last six years but never any further.

Southeast's Director of Athletics Mark Alnutt said before the search began that the next coach of the men's basketball program needed to be familiar with the area, the OVC and how the team operates in the conference.

Ray grew up in Kansas City, Kansas, and has recruited in a number of areas that are close to Southeast.

When Ray was an assistant coach at Indiana State he was two hours away from St. Louis. Ray also coached at Purdue and is familiar with the Illinois area. Finally, his time at Mississippi State allowed him to look at possible recruits in Memphis, Tennessee.

Ray talked about Southeast's proximity to larger cities in Monday's press conference as a key component for a team to be successful in the Ohio Valley Conference.

"With the fact that we're just two hours away from St. Louis, three hours away from Memphis and we have the Southeast area in between those two destinations that go out and prove quality high school kids to come to Southeast Missouri State to me is something that's really important," Ray said. "Recruiting is the lifeblood of any program, and to me when you're talking about getting somebody to come to Southeast Missouri State is much like selling a home. You're not going to sell your home unless you get foot traffic. Somebody has to come into your home and physically see the home in order for them to buy it."

Another component Ray talked about for how Southeast can be successful is the utilization of the Show Me Center, which will undergo renovations this summer. He said it is one of the finest arenas in the OVC and could even be used as a recruiting tool.

Ray won't start recruiting until he gets a staff in place to do so. He said in the press conference that he will give current staff members a chance to explain each of their own visions of the program to see if they match with his.

Ray said he couldn't promise that he will keep any of the three current staff members on the team, which include Jamie Rosser, Stetson Hairston and Justin Argenal.

Ray's current focus is creating relationships with the players on this team, and he was able to meet the team on Monday prior to the press conference.

"The most important thing that we have is to make sure that our guys understand that we have relationships in order to move forward," Ray said. "It starts by us being honest with each other. The No. 1 rule in our program is telling the truth, and it's the hardest rule to keep. It's not just the players telling me the truth, it's me telling the players the truth."

Prior to this last season, Southeast was picked to finish second in the OVC behind Murray State, and this impressed Ray since it let him know there is talent in place.

Ray has been able to evaluate the players that are currently on the Southeast roster by watching their film online.

Former Southeast coach Dickey Nutt was fired on March 23 after the team failed to advance to the second round of the OVC Tournament on March 4.

The search for the team's new coach began the day after Nutt's termination was announced.

Alnutt said Nutt was let go simply because he did not meet the expectations that he and Alnutt made prior to the season that he has with each coach.

Alnutt will evaluate Ray like all of the first-year coaches he has hired, including Southeast football coach Tom Matukewicz, by looking at the stability of the program after the first season.