Midway University Vice President for Admissions and Student Affairs, Rusty Kennedy has announced the hiring of former WBCA-NAIA National Coach of the Year Chris Minner as the new Women’s Basketball Coach at Midway.
“I am excited to welcome Chris Minner to Midway University as our head women’s basketball coach,” said Kennedy. “Chris stood out among a very impressive pool of applicants we had for our position.”
Kennedy added, “His history of success and experience at the NAIA level really impressed us and I believe under his leadership we will continue to see the program progress.”
Minner comes to Midway following a one-year stint as the assistant at the University of North Texas – an NCAA DI program in Denton, Texas. It was there where he helped lead the Mean Green to a postseason appearance, while attracting the No. 1 recruiting class in Conference USA.
Prior to joining the staff at North Texas, Minner enjoyed a plethora of success at the NAIA level at Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio, Texas. Minner made his way to Our Lady of the Lake in 2009 as an assistant coach before becoming head coach of the women’s basketball program in 2012.
During his seven seasons as head coach Minner led the Saints to a 189-45 (.807 win percentage) mark overall and a 123-11 (.917 win percentage) record in Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) play.
He was named the NAIA National Coach of the Year following the 2015-16 season where he led the Saints to a 30-2 record overall and a perfect 20-0 mark in RRAC play. He also led the Saints to the regular season and tournament titles as well as a No. 1 ranking the national polls – a ranking they held for six straight polls.
Minner also earned two Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Region Coach of the Year Awards and four RRAC Coach of the Year Awards, while he led his teams to seven appearances in the NAIA National Tournament. Within those seven appearances, his teams made it to the Fab Four, the Elite 8 as well as four appearances in the Sweet Sixteen.
It was during Minner’s last season with the Saints that his team made history by making it to the semifinals of the NAIA National Championship – the best finish ever by any athletic team at Our Lady of the Lake. Minner’s team also finished the season ranked 12th in the nation.
While at OLLU, Minner’s teams compiled six RRAC Regular Season Titles and three RRAC Tournament Titles, while his teams were ranked in the NAIA National Poll during the entire seven-year tenure.
Minner also coached 10 NAIA All-Americans, 29 All-Conference players and 12 NAIA-Daktronics Scholar-Athletes.
During his three years as an assistant at Our Lady of the Lake, Minner helped establish the inaugural program in 2009-2010 and helped lead the team to their first-ever conference tournament championship and NAIA National Tournament appearance in 2012.
Prior to making his way to OLLU in 2009, Minner served as an assistant at Texas A&M International University an NCAA Division II program in Laredo, Texas. It was there where he primarily managed TAMIU’s defense and worked with the team on shooting and scoring to guide the team to a six-game improvement in the league.
TAMIU also ranked fourth in the nation and No. 11 in assist-to-turnover ratio and was first in scoring offense, steals, forces turnovers and blocks in the conference.
Minner’s coaching background also includes stops at Vacaville Christian High School, Napa Valley College (Calif.) and Vacaville High School.
During his head coaching career at all levels (NAIA, JUCO and High School) Minner’s teams have helped him amass over 400 career wins.
“I am very excited to be the next women’s basketball coach at Midway University,” noted Minner. “I look forward to continuing the positive momentum that Coach Foster and these players have experienced the last few years. The Midway athletic department is up and coming and I am glad to be part of it.”
Minner added, “I look forward to contending for Conference and National Championships as well as helping my student-athletes reach their academic and athletic goals.”
Minner earned his Bachelor of Arts in English from Sonoma State University, while he holds a Master of Arts from St. Mary’s College and an MBA from Our Lady of the Lake.
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