Bunky Harkleroad, who was a finalist for NCAA Div. II Coach of the Year last season at Glenville State College, has been named head coach of Sacramento State women’s basketball, Director of Athletics Dr. Terry Wanless announced Tuesday.
Harkleroad replaces Jamie Craighead, who left Sacramento State after four seasons as head coach to assume the head coaching position at San José State.
"We’re very excited to welcome Coach Harkleroad to the Hornet family," Dr. Wanless said. "He brings a high energy offensive philosophy that we believe will be successful in the Big Sky. He was very impressive during the interview process and we believe that he will be a great fit with Hornet athletics."
Harkleroad runs a high-tempo system that will continue the playing style employed by Craighead. His non-traditional style produces fast-paced play aimed at overwhelming an opponent both physically and mentally while providing fans with an entertaining product. With an overall record of 258-120 over 13 seasons as a head coach, his style has proved to be extremely effective.
"This is a tremendous opportunity and I’m grateful for it," Harkleroad said. "I think this is an exceptional fit and I’m so excited to get on the court and get to work."
Glenville State, which is located in Glenville, W.Va., led NCAA Div. II in scoring in each of the last four seasons and averaged 95.3 points per game last year. Glenville’s record improved every season during Harkleroad’s tenure while the squad broke virtually every offensive record at the college, compiling a 91-30 overall record with a 47-3 mark in home games.
Glenville State made two NCAA Tournament appearances in Harkleroad’s four seasons at the school while winning a West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC) tournament title and a regular season title. The Pioneers went 27-4 last season while outscoring their opposition by an average of 18.1 points per game with 13 games scoring more than 100 points. The team also broke the Div. II NCAA Tournament record with 21 three-pointers made in a game vs. Shaw last season.
In addition to leading NCAA Div. II in scoring Glenville State also led in three-pointers made per game in three of Harkleroad’s four seasons at the school and led Div. II in turnover margin in 2012. He was named the 2013 WVIAC Coach of the Year and the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Region Coach of the Year before becoming a finalist for national Coach of the Year honors.
"Bunky is a great person and an even better coach," said women’s basketball head coach at Davis & Elkins College Jason Asbell, who faced Harkleroad as a conference opponent over the last four years. "He gets his kids to play extremely hard; they play with a lot of confidence and a lot of freedom and its going to be fun for the Sacramento State fans to watch them play. I’m going to miss coaching against him because its such a challenge but I’m happy for him and I think he will do a tremendous job."
Harkleroad came to Glenville State after spending nine seasons as the head coach at Berea College, an NAIA Div. II school located in Berea, Ky. His overall record at Berea was 147-93 while he led the team to its first 20-win season in school history and totaled five 20-win seasons. Berea won three consecutive Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (KIAC) tournament titles and made three straight NAIA National Tournament appearances between 2005 and 2007.
Berea College also broke 33 NAIA records and 24 team records during Harkleroad’s tenure. His players earned two NAIA honorable mention All-America honors and one WBCA/Kodak honorable mention All-America award.
Harkleroad attended Berea College where he played for NAIA Hall of Fame coach Roland Wierwille and graduated in 1993 with a bachelor of arts degree in history. He earned a teaching certificate and taught public school in Berea for 12 years before earning a master’s degree in sports administration from the United States Sports Academy in 2004.
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