After conducting a nationwide search, Idaho State University has hired Ryan Looney to be the 22nd men’s basketball coach in program history.
CBS Sports first reported the news Wednesday, which was confirmed to the Journal by multiple sources. ISU announced the hire later that day.
Looney and ISU are holding an introductory press conference at 11 a.m. Friday in the Quad Lounge of the Pond Student Union Building on campus.
Looney recently completed his third season as the head coach at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego.
This past season, Looney took his team to the NCAA Division II national championship game, where the Sea Lions lost to Northwest Missouri State.
Looney replaces Bill Evans, whose contract was not renewed for an eighth season following ISU’s first-round loss in this year’s Big Sky Conference tournament, ending the season at 11-19. Evans went 70-141 over seven seasons with ISU, including one plus-.500 campaign (16-15 in 2015-16).
Looney beat out two other finalists and 12 other interviewees to earn the job at Idaho State. He was first interviewed during the men’s NCAA Final Four in Minneapolis and visited Pocatello and the ISU campus Monday. The other two finalists in the running were Nevada assistant coach Gus Argenal, and Saul Phillips, the former head coach at Ohio and North Dakota State.
“I am thankful to president Kevin Satterlee and athletic director Pauline Thiros for trusting me with such an important position at Idaho State University,” Looney said in an ISU-issued news release. “I understand the impact our program can have on the campus. ISU will get my very best every day and it will be the expectation that our student-athletes do the same. My family and I are excited to get to Pocatello. We plan to not only fully engage ourselves on campus, but in the community as well.”
“I know we have a big challenge ahead of us,” Looney continued. “It will be great to start communicating and working with our current student-athletes on the team.”
In three seasons at Point Loma, Looney went 69-28, including a 31-5 mark this past season. The 31 wins tied the school record that was set during the 1952-53 season. The Sea Lions went 13-14 the season before Looney was hired, and he increased the team’s win total each season. He was named the Pacific West Conference Coach of the Year following the 2018-19 regular season.
Last season at Point Loma, Looney coached national Division II Player of the Year Daulton Hommes. The 6-foot-8 native of Washington state, who would be a senior next season, declared for the NBA Draft earlier this month.
Looney’s resume also boasts successful stints as the head coach at Eastern Oregon (NAIA) and Seattle Pacific (Division II). Looney went 164-51 in seven seasons at Seattle Pacific (2009-16), winning at least 20 games every season. Looney’s SPU teams advanced to the regional final of the Division II national tournament in 2012 and ‘13. He was named the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 2010 and ‘14, and his 164 career victories rank fourth all-time in the GNAC. His .763 winning percentage at SPU is the best in school history.
During his first two seasons at Seattle Pacific, Looney’s teams beat Division I opponents Arizona, Nevada and Eastern Washington in exhibitions.
Prior to Seattle Pacific, Looney spent five seasons at Eastern Oregon (2004-09), improving the team’s record from 4-22 his first season to 25-8 in his final campaign, and he took his 2008-09 squad to the NAIA national quarterfinals. Looney’s career record of 95-55 at EOU gives him the second-best winning percentage (.633) in school history. He was named the Cascade Collegiate Conference Coach of the Year in 2008.
In 15 seasons as a head coach, Looney’s teams have played in 11 national championship tournaments. His career record is 328-134 (.710).
“Coach Looney’s record of success is undeniable,” ISU Athletic Director Pauline Semons Thiros said in the ISU-issued release. “He has demonstrated that he has the championship blueprint in three programs, and most importantly, his values and commitment to excellence align with the growing, strong culture in Idaho State athletics. His ability to recruit and develop players is proven, and his success is consistent evidence of his talent in the tactical aspects of the game.”
Looney, 43, played collegiately at Eastern Oregon. His other college coaching experience includes two seasons as an assistant at Wisconsin-LaCrosse and one season as an assistant at North Idaho. Six of Point Loma’s 16 players this past season were Washington state natives, and the San Diego Union Tribune reported that Looney grew up in Spokane, Washington, which is just over the Idaho-Washington border.
Looney inherits an ISU roster that is expected to feature eight seniors next season, though at least two of them — Brandon Boyd and Gary Chivichyan — have entered the NCAA transfer portal. Both have said they would wait until a hire was made at ISU before deciding to stay in Pocatello or pursue opportunities elsewhere.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In