Jeff Mittie, one of the winningest active coaches in NCAA Division I with more than 450 career wins, 15 postseason appearances, nine conference titles and five conference coach of the year honors in 22 years of coaching, has been named the ninth head women’s basketball coach at Kansas State, Athletics Director John Currie announced on Tuesday.
Mittie agreed to a five-year contract approved by the K-State Athletics, Inc., Board of Directors and President Kirk Schulz. Mittie – who was selected after a national search by K-State’s search committee of Currie, Senior Women’s Administrator Jill Shields, Faculty Athletics Representative Dr. Be Stoney and Chief of Staff and Assistant Athletics Director of Administration Clint Dowdle – will be paid $375,000 in the first year of the deal with $25,000 annual increases each year remaining on the contract. He will also receive a $140,000 signing bonus.
“I want to thank President Schulz and Athletic Director Currie for giving me this opportunity. I think this is a great opportunity for Shanna and me and our family. It is a tremendous opportunity at a terrific institution that, I believe, in women’s basketball has proven that the fan base can get excited about. This was the youngest team in the Big 12 this year, so I am excited to work with the players. I am always excited about developing a team and that challenge. I think Kansas State and my family will be a really great fit. I am looking forward to getting recruiting started across the state of Kansas and developing those very important relationships.”
Mittie, 47, has achieved an overall record of 454-234 (.660) in his 22 years as a head coach, which includes stops at Missouri Western, Arkansas State and TCU. His .660 career winning percentage ranks 45th among active Division I head coaches and 21st among active coaches with 20 or more years of experience.
Mittie has averaged 21 wins and 10 losses per season and experienced only one losing season in his 22 years of head coaching. Fifteen times Mittie has advanced his teams to either the NCAA or WNIT Tournaments, in which he has a combined record of 15-13. Over the last 14 seasons, Mittie guided TCU to 13 winning seasons with 11 consecutive postseason appearances, including nine NCAA Tournament berths.
At TCU, Mittie compiled a 303-175 (.634) record while exceeding the win total the program accomplished in the first 22 seasons of existence. Prior to Mittie’s arrival, TCU owned a 208-402 (.340) mark. He recorded his milestone 300th victory at TCU on Feb. 19 of the past season during a home win over Kansas State.
“We are thrilled to welcome Jeff, Shanna, Logan, Madison and Jordan Mittie to Manhattan and the K-State family,” Currie said. “Coach Mittie’s success as a head coach at three different institutions, Midwest background as well as his reputation as a top-notch recruiter make him the ideal fit to lead our women’s basketball program. We set out to find the very best basketball coach for K-State, whose personal values and integrity reflects those of our university and one that appreciates the unique opportunity of being part of our strong basketball tradition and commitment to championship performances, and we are confident that Jeff Mittie is that person. I look forward to the entire K-State Nation having the opportunity to get to know him and his family.”
Mittie has received a number of accolades during his coaching career including: 2010 Mountain West Coach of the Year, 2002 Conference USA Coach of the Year, 2001 WAC Coach of the Year and 1994 and 1995 MIAA Coach of the Year. He has also led his programs to nine conference titles.
In addition to personal honors, Mittie has mentored several of his players who have reached the WNBA (Sandora Irvin and Adrianne Ross) or played overseas (Helena Sverrisdottir and Antoinette Thompson), been honored as an All-American, earned conference player of the year awards, all-league citations and academic all-conference awards. During his time with TCU, Mittie coached 10 of the 12 members of the school’s 1,000-point club and five of the nine members of the 500-rebound club.
Mittie’s success at TCU expanded his coaching tree, as a pair of his former assistants moved on to head coaching positions in Division I. Former assistants Larry Tidwell and Yolanda Wells-Broughton have moved into head coaching positions at Lamar and Texas Southern, respectively.
Prior to his tenure at TCU, Mittie pieced together a 75-42 (.641) mark in his four campaigns at Arkansas State, posting a pair of 20-win seasons and winning 17 or more contests in each of his four years with the Lady Indians. Twice his teams topped the Sun Belt Conference in grade point average as well.
Before taking over the Arkansas State program, Mittie fashioned a 76-17 (.817) mark in three years as head coach at Missouri Western. In 1995, Mittie guided the school to a remarkable 31-3 slate, which included a 15-1 conference record, and he led the club to the Division II Final Four. That squad finished the season ranked No. 3 nationally and captured both the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association regular-season and tournament championships. For his efforts, he was tabbed league and district Coach of the Year, and was among eight finalists for the national honor.
Mittie garnered league Coach of the Year honors for the first time in his career in 1994 when his Griffons posted a 29-3 overall and 16-0 league record and captured the MIAA regular-season title. His club also made a trip to the NCAA Elite Eight. Before assuming the head coaching duties, Mittie served one season as assistant basketball and baseball coach at the school.
A native of Blue Springs, Mo., Mittie earned his undergraduate degree in sports management from Missouri Western in 1989 and his master’s in sports management from the United States Sports Academy in Mobile, Ala., in 1992.
Mittie and his wife, Shanna, who is a native of Junction City, Kan., and a graduate of Chapman High School, are the proud parents of three children, daughters Logan and Madison and son Jordan.
