McMurry University Vice President for Student Affairs and Intercollegiate Athletics Sam Ferguson announced an interim head coach for McMurry Women’s Basketball, naming Drew Long to lead the program.
Formerly the Deputy Director of Athletics for Internal Operations at Abilene Christian University for six years, Long leaves his administration role to rejoin the coaching ranks.
Prior to ACU, Long worked as an NCAA Division I men’s basketball assistant coach with stops at the University of Colorado (2007-10) and the United States Air Force Academy (2010-15). He also has NCAA Division III experience, serving as the sole assistant at Southwestern University during the 2006-07 season.
He also spent one season at Faith West Academy in Houston as the director of athletics and head boys’ basketball coach, leading the team to a 26-9 record in 2015-16.
“We couldn’t be more thrilled to welcome Coach Long and his family to the McMurry Community,” said Ferguson. “I have known him for three years and have grown to admire him for many reasons. Coach Long reflects our War Hawks R.I.S.E. values and is committed to Developing Champions for Life. He’s coached great players at the Division III level and at college basketball’s highest level. Those experiences will serve as an asset to our scholar-athletes. However, I am most impressed by his care for others, and as a father of three girls, he will be a strong advocate for our team. It’s a blessing to have him leading our program!”
At ACU, Long was responsible for the internal operations of the department, including game day operations, facility management and construction, as well as administrative oversight of many of ACU’s athletic programs.
On the court, Long’s roles as an assistant at Air Force included coordinating and implementing the offense, managing and organizing the program’s recruiting database and serving as the program’s liaison to the compliance office, among other duties. At CU, he was responsible for player development, game preparation and recruiting.
He also worked as CU’s men’s basketball operations coordinator and video coordinator prior to his promotion to assistant coach. His year of coaching at Southwestern included recruiting duties, on-court workouts, game prep and video editing.
Long – a former student-athlete at Northwestern University – said he is excited to make his return to basketball in the The Big Country.
“Words cannot express how grateful I am to continue my coaching career here in Abilene,” said Long. “My family and I love this city, and we are excited to join the War Hawk family. I want to thank Sam Ferguson and Dr. (Sandra) Harper for the opportunity to lead the women’s basketball program. I can’t wait to get started.”
A Houston native, Long graduated from Northwestern in 2004 with a degree in communications. He lettered two seasons on the Wildcats’ basketball team for head coach Bill Carmody. After graduation, he served as the director of operations for the Houston Swoosh AAU organization and went on to coach a variety of youth basketball teams and clinics across the state of Texas.
Long and his wife, Dr. Melissa Long, currently reside in Abilene and have three daughters: Alice, Christie and Emery.
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