UTEP head coach Tony Barbee will be formally introduced as the new Auburn Tigers basketball coach on Thursday afternoon. (Getty Images)

The Auburn Tigers basketball team officially announced the hire of UTEP head coach Tony Barbee as their new head basketball coach.

The hire comes about two weeks after Auburn fired Jeff Lebo after six seasons with the Tigers. Lebo put together a 96-93 record as Auburn's coach, including a 36-61 record in the Southeastern Conference.

Barbee has spent the last four years at UTEP and was named the Conference USA Coach of the Year this year after leading the Miners to the Conference USA Championship and an NCAA Tournament berth for the first time since 2005.

He put together an 82-51 record as UTEP's head coach, including a 39-25 record in conference play. Each year during his tenure, UTEP improved both its overall and its conference record.

"We are thrilled to welcome Tony Barbee into the Auburn Family," Auburn athletics director Jay Jacobs said in a press release. "Coach Barbee has a vision of competing for championships at Auburn, and the passion to get us there. He is a phenomenal coach, an outstanding recruiter and a fierce competitor."

Barbee was formally introduced as Auburn's new head coach on Thursday. He is expected to sign a six-year deal worth $1.5 million per year, per the terms of an agreement he signed with the university.

"I'm very excited about the opportunity to join the Auburn Family and proud to be the next head coach at Auburn," Barbee said in the release. "We have challenges in front of us, but we also have great opportunities with everything Auburn has to offer--a great university, outstanding community, tremendous fan support, and a terrific new arena and practice facility. The time is now to take Auburn basketball to new heights."

The Tigers will open a brand-new, state-of-the-art, $92.5 million basketball arena and practice facility before the start of the 2010 season.