Arkansas State Director of Athletics Terry Mohajir has announced that head women’s basketball coach Brian Boyer has agreed to a new three-year contract through the 2016-17 season.
“Due to the regular season Sun Belt Conference championship and the talent returning I believe it warranted that Coach Boyer be rewarded with a new three-year contract for continued growth in our women’s basketball program,” Mohajir said. “This is a great testament to the ladies on the team and the hard work and determination that they have put in to achieve their success.”
The 2013-14 campaign was perhaps the best of Boyer’s historic career at A-State. The Red Wolves finished with a 22-12 overall record and a 14-4 mark in the Sun Belt Conference (SBC). The squad captured the outright regular-season Sun Belt Conference title for the first time in school history. A-State entered the SBC Tournament as the No. 1 seed and advanced to the championship game for the second time in program history.
It was also a landmark year for Boyer, who surpassed former Louisiana Tech coach Leon Barmore and Florida International coach Cindy Russo for the most league wins in Sun Belt Conference history at 136 on March 5. Boyer currently holds 137 career league victories and won his third career SBC Coach of the Year award at the end of the season.
“I am humbled and grateful for our administration’s belief in me and continued investment in our program,” Boyer said. “I feel very good about the state of our basketball program right now. We had a successful season last year on the court, in the classroom and in the community and we look forward to building on those successes.”
The Red Wolves earned a berth in the WNIT for the fifth time during Boyer’s tenure at Arkansas State, which was also the school’s ninth appearance in the tournament since the 1991-92 season. The 22 victories were the most since A-State went 22-9 in 1993-94 and gave the program its fourth 20-win season in Boyer’s 15 seasons.
Under Boyer’s tutelage, two players (Aundrea Gamble and Jane Morrill) were named to the SBC All-Conference Team last season, while Gamble went on to earn the Player of the Year award. Gamble and Morrill also earned SBC All-Tournament Team honors.
Boyer has coached 23 players to all-conference status during his tenure, but his team’s success is not limited to just on the court. The program won back-to-back Sun Belt Conference Team Academic honors in 2012-13 and 2013-14 with team GPA’s that were over the 3.0 mark.
“During the first meeting I had with Terry Mohajir, after he was hired here at Arkansas State, he talked about the things that he wanted to do for the women’s basketball program to help it grow,” Boyer said. “He has followed through with all of those plans plus some. We are fortunate to have an athletics director that is focused on gender equity and is committed to advancing all sports here at Arkansas State.”
