Former University of Kentucky basketball coach Billy Gillispie was charged with DUI early Thursday morning in Lawrenceburg, Anderson County.

An observer reported Gillispie for driving down Hwy. 127 recklessly. He was arrested shortly thereafter. Gillispie refused a breath test. He claimed to have been golfing earlier in the evening. The arrest came after 2:00 AM.

The passenger in the vehicle was also charged with alcohol intoxication. This charge in Kentucky means he was intoxicated to the point he posed a risk to other people or to the degree he would unreasonably annoy people around him.

Darran Winslow, Gillispie's lawyer, stated Gillispie had been released from the Franklin County jail. No further comment has been made from Gillispie's camp.

Gillispie has one prior DUI charge on his record in the state of Oklahoma. He negotiated for a lesser plea in that case. He was also arrested in 2003 in Texas, where he was coaching the University of Texas-El Paso team, for suspicion of drunk driving. On that account he had been driving the wrong way down a one way street.

Gillispie, also known as BCG, lead both UTEP and Texas A&M to the post-season just one year after they posted losing seasons. He is known as the only coach to do this in two consecutive years. 

Gillispie was fired from UK earlier this year on March 27. The team stated it was due to a conflict between the coach and the university staff which stemmed from his unwillingness to sign a contract. 

Gillispie is suing UK for $6M he claims he is owed through a Memorandum of Understanding. The school says this document is an informal agreement not enforceable in court.