It was a move that has been building up for the past two years, and Wednesday it became reality. Tim Floyd resigned as Iowa State men’s basketball coach and is expected to take the place left by Phil Jackson as head coach of the Chicago Bulls.

The Bulls will make the official announcement today at noon.

“I am very thankful for what Tim has done for our program, for our student athletes and for the Cyclone family,” ISU athletic director Gene Smith said in a press conference Wednesday at the Jacobson Building.

“Without a shadow of doubt, I feel confident that we will find a successor that will take advantage of the things Tim did here and Hilton Magic,” Smith said.

With rumors of Floyd’s exit swirling all summer, Smith said Floyd had kept both him and ISU President Martin Jischke up-to-date on his position, but had had less contact with the Cyclone basketball players. A conference call Wednesday morning was the first time some of the players had heard from Floyd this summer.

“Coach has been out of town for much of the summer recruiting, so we really haven’t talked to him,” junior Tony Rampton said. “People always thought we knew what was going on, but you guys knew as much as we did.”

The 44-year-old Floyd is leaving ISU after four years leading the Cyclones to an 81-47 record. He was the first ISU coach to bring the Cyclones three consecutive first-round victories in the NCAA tournament. This past season ISU went a paltry 12-18.

“I think this was a very difficult decision for Tim,” Smith said. “We’ve created an environment for a head coach to be successful, go to the NCAA tournament, win a conference championship.

“We have great financial backing, an outstanding president, but obviously the Bulls are the pinnacle of professional basketball. I’m sure it is difficult because he is leaving something great,” Smith said. “There are great players here, and we have great players coming in.”

Bulls General Manager Jerry Krause first met Floyd during the coach’s time at New Orleans, where the two became fishing partners. Krause now will attempt to keep the World Champion Bulls together for another title run.

While at New Orleans, Floyd averaged 21 wins per season and made two NCAA appearances.

In Ames, Floyd set the school record for wins his first two seasons, while his team won the 1996 Big 8 title, earning him conference coach of the year accolades. His 1997 squad advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16.

Floyd will be leaving a job that would have paid him $750,000 in the upcoming year for a position that reportedly will earn him a multi-year contract worth millions.

The only problem is that he may be viewed as the man who ran Michael Jordan out of Chicago. Jordan has publicly said he will not play for a young coach like Floyd but will not make a definite decision until the NBA lockout is lifted.

Pete Taylor is currently handling the administrative operations of the ISU basketball teams. Assistants Gar Forman and Tom Bardal are still currently under contract, and Smith said he will discuss their futures with the Cyclones shortly.

Smith said he has cut down a long list of head coach candidates to a group of less than 25 applicants but has not interviewed anyone.

Regarding the search for a new coach, Smith said he is “frankly excited.”

“There is some outstanding talent interested in this job. We have a reputation in Ames of having some great players with great leadership, so we have a lot to offer,” he said.

Smith said interviews for the coaching position will begin in a few days, after he has had an opportunity to meet with his administration.

ISU sophomore Marcus Fizer said he was looking forward to having a new coach and transferring was not an option.

“We tried not to think about it, but it was always there,” Fizer said of Floyd’s exit. “We knew about the rumors during the season, but we wanted to concentrate here at Iowa State. [Floyd] never really talked about it to me.”

With Floyd’s departure, concerns have been raised about recruits changing their minds about playing for ISU.

“I don’t think it will be a problem, because if they have seen the program they know what is here,” Fizer said.