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MIAMI (CBS4) ― Florida International University named NBA Hall of Fame player Isiah Thomas as the new head coach on Tuesday. Thomas takes over a program that hasn't finished above .500 since the 1999-2000 season. Isiah signed a 5-year contract with the school on Tuesday and was introduced to the media Wednesday morning.

"We can build a program here. We can build a very exciting basketball program here. There will be a lot of ups and a lot of downs, there will be more ups than downs," Thomas told the media on Wednesday. "We want to be known as one of the top basketball programs in the country."

The hiring generated national and local media buzz, but along with the immediate name recognition with Isiah, a lot of baggage is brought in as well.

Thomas' performance as a player is second to none in the annals of college basketball history. He played for Bobby Knight at Indiana University and was a first round pick of the Detroit Pistons in 1981. He was named the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player in 1990 while helping lead the Detroit Pistons to the NBA Championship.

For his playing career, Isiah averaged 19.2 points per game and 9.3 assists per game, making him one of the league's best point guards ever. But it was the coaching and ownership of teams after his playing career that have many seeing red flags with having Thomas a member of an organization.

Thomas made his first move into a front office job in 1994. Thomas became part owner and executive vice president of the Toronto Raptors, a position he held until 1998. Thomas left the team in 1998 after new owners took control of the team.

Thomas' next move was to purchase the Continental Basketball Association (CBA). Thomas owned the league for two years, but Thomas sought to sell the league but could find no takers. The NBA reportedly offered Thomas $11 million for the league, but Thomas rejected the offer. The CBA was eventually put into bankruptcy and many teams ceased operations.

Thomas then became head coach of the Indiana Pacers. He succeeded fellow NBA Hall of Famer Larry Bird as the Pacers coach. Bird had coached the Pacers to the NBA Eastern Conference title, a feat Thomas could never match. As head coach of the Pacers for three years, Thomas never coached the team past the first round of the playoffs and was eventually replaced by Rick Carlisle.

Thomas was named team president of the New York Knicks in 2003. Thomas signed several free agents that gave the Knicks the highest payroll in the league. But, in his first two years as team president, the Knicks produced the second fewest wins in the NBA. Thomas was then named coach of the Knicks with a mandate from the team owner to show "evident progress," or be fired.

Thomas' first season was not successful, finishing 16 games below .500, but he was signed to a multi-year extension following the 2006-2007 season. Then the wheels completely fell off for the Knicks and Thomas.

In October of 2006, Thomas and Madison Square Garden were sued for sexual harassment by Anucha Browne Sanders. In a September 2007 trial, Thomas was determined to have made demeaning statements to Sanders, as well as making sexual advances and repeatedly telling Sanders he was in love with her. Madison Square Garden was ordered to pay Browne-Sanders $11.6 million.

When the topic of the lawsuit and the allegations made against Isiah in the lawsuit were brought up in the Wednesday press conference, Coach Thomas and athletic director Pete Garcia didn't duck the issue. "It's safe to say that uh, the last two years has definitely taken a toll on my family. Again, I'm extremely comfortable and the university is extremely comfortable in their findings of the facts of the case," Coach Thomas said.

During the 2007-2008 season the Knicks collapsed into one of the worst teams in the NBA. Thomas and the team were booed repeatedly by Knicks fans throughout the season. Thomas would be fired after compiling a 23-59 record. For his coaching career, he compiled a 187-223 record.

Still, even though Thomas has his troubles, he still displayed his fire to get things done through all of his issues. "You never get to stay on the top. A lot of people never make it to the top. When you get to the top it's not your right to stay there. Fortunately for me, I learned from my mother that the same people you meet on the way up you meet on the way down. Don't expect me to just stay down, because that's not gonna happen," Thomas said.

Athletic director Pete Garcia addressed the concerns from some faculty members and students about how much Coach Thomas would be paid. Garcia said that over the entire length of the 5 year contract, Thomas will be paid less than $1.3 million. Garcia also said Thomas would give back his entire salary in the first year of the contract.

(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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