The University of Minnesota Crookston announces the retirement of Women’s Basketball Head Coach Mike Roysland. Roysland recently finished his 17th season on the sidelines for the Golden Eagles. He helped UMN Crookston to three NSIC Tournament quarterfinal appearances, and two more NSIC Tournament appearances, in which not every team made the field. The conference tournament appearances remain the most by any Golden Eagle team in any sport during the NCAA Division II era.
“I want to first express my gratitude for the opportunity Steph Helgeson and Chancellor (Charles H.) Casey gave me 17 years ago to lead this women’s basketball program,” Roysland stated. “What a journey it has been. I’ve been fortunate to work with many people that have helped make this program what it is today. That includes my current and former assistant coaches, UMN Crookston faculty and staff, along with media relations, sports broadcasters, and alumni.
What I will cherish most is the relationships I have forged with players and their families over the years. Those people have positively impacted my life in ways that will never be forgotten. I also want to thank my wife, Kim, and our family for the endless love and support over the years. Their commitment to this program was as big as mine and for that, I’m grateful.
UMN Crookston basketball has a bright future and I look forward to supporting these women from a different seat in the arena. Never forget where you’re from, where you’ve been, and the people that have made you better along the way.”
Roysland coached 13 players to 21 All-NSIC honors during his 17 seasons. His teams had a three-year stretch from 2015-17 where they made it to consecutive NSIC Tournament quarterfinals at the Sanford Pentagon in South Dakota. Roysland helped coach Emma Miller to an NSIC Freshman of the Year honor during the 2022-23 campaign and helped Katrina (Moenkedick) Nordick to NSIC Preseason Player of the Year accolades in 2015-16. He coached five players to six All-NSIC First Team honors in their careers (Nordick 2016, Miller, Alexa Thielman 2016, Isieoma Odor 2019, and Jamie Zelinsky 2011). He coached one UMN Crookston Athletic Hall of Famer (Zelinsky) and she remains the all-time leading scorer in program history.
Roysland was named NSIC Coach of the Year after the 2014-15 season. His 2015-16 squad went on to a program-high 18 wins. The 2014-15 and 2015-16 squads hosted home NSIC Tournament games at Lysaker Gymnasium.
Roysland’s players also found great success in the classroom with Nordick, Bren Fox, and Megan Eul earning Academic All-District honors. Eul went on to Capital One Academic All-America First Team accolades.
“I would like to thank Coach Roysland for the impact he has had on our women’s basketball program,” said Director of Athletics Stephanie Helgeson. “Coach Roysland has been one of the most successful coaches we have had at Minnesota Crookston in the NCAA Division II era. Mike and his family have been a staple in the sports community in this region and the state. I will always look up to his dedication and hard work displayed daily as coach at UMN Crookston. Every day he brought great enthusiasm and commitment to the basketball program. I will be forever grateful to Mike for the impact he had on me when he was my volleyball coach in high school, an impact that has remained throughout my life. I wish him and his family the very best in his well-deserved retirement and know that we will still be seeing him in the Maroon and Gold. Because of Mike we will always remember to ‘make it a great day.'”
Prior to arriving at Minnesota Crookston, Coach Roysland was a highly accomplished high school coach. Roysland brought to the table 42 combined years of head coaching experience to the Golden Eagle Women’s Basketball program. He coached girls’ volleyball for 15 years at Win-E-Mac in Erskine, Minn., finishing with a record of 364 wins and 51 losses. Roysland was the head boys’ basketball coach for a combined 27 years at Win-E-Mac and Fosston High School and finished with a record of 360 wins and 237 losses. He was co-coach on a North Tartan AAU team that took third place at Nationals in 2002 and won the National Championship in 2003. He was a four-year executive board member of the Minnesota Boys Basketball Coaches Association, 2000 basketball State Runner-Up and Conference and Sub-Section Basketball Coach of the Year. In volleyball, he received the Minnesota State Coaches Association Hall of Fame Award, is a three-time State Coach of the Year and made eight State Tournament appearances.
Roysland was a stand-out basketball player in his own right at Bemidji State University where he was a three-year letter winner for the Beavers, graduating in 1980 with a degree in elementary education. He was an All-NIC pick as a senior at Bemidji State and was inducted into the Bemidji State University Athletic Hall of Fame in 2008. His wife, Kim, is also a member of the BSU Athletic Hall of Fame.
In retirement he will get more time to spend with his family, especially his grandsons Brekken and Hayes Curry. A search for the next Minnesota Crookston women’s basketball head coach will begin immediately.
Tagged with: D2 NSIC
