SALT LAKE CITY-Wednesday, Utah men’s basketball head coach Craig Smith hired away Chris Burgess from rival BYU’s coaching staff.

A vacancy arose on the Utes’ staff when Smith’s former righthand man, Eric Peterson, was hired to be the head coach of the South Dakota Coyotes of the Summit League.

Burgess has a history with the Utes as he played for then-head coach Rick Majerus from 2000-2002 after transferring from Duke.

While playing for Utah, Burgess averaged 9.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per game.

After leaving the Utes, Burgess bounced around professional basketball, playing on the summer league squads for various NBA teams as well as internationally.

He entered coaching as Utah’s graduate assistant in 2013.

Since that time, Burgess had followed former Utah Valley and current BYU coach Mark Pope to both the Wolverines and Cougars’ programs before Smith’s hiring.