Wayne State coach named new women's basketball coach
Staff reports
Issue date: 4/2/08 Section: Volante News Now
Originally Created: 4/3/08 at 3:09 PM CST
Last Updated: 4/3/08 at 3:08 PM CST
Originally Created: 4/3/08 at 3:09 PM CST
Last Updated: 4/3/08 at 3:08 PM CST
Ryun Williams, the winningest women's basketball coach in Wayne State (Neb.) history and former Coyote men's basketball player, has been named the 10th head women's basketball coach in the history of The University of South Dakota. Director of Athletics Joel Nielsen announced the hiring of Williams, who will replace the retiring Chad Lavin, this afternoon.
The university has scheduled a 2:00 p.m., press conference on Tuesday, April 8 to introduce Williams as the new women's basketball coach.
Lavin, who was the head coach at USD for 14 seasons and was a head coach for a total of 26 seasons, announced his retirement before the start of the 2007-08 season. After announcing his retirement, Lavin guided the Coyotes on an unforgettable run to the NCAA Division II national championship game. Prior to the start of the Elite Eight, he was named the Russell Athletic/WBCA NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Coach of the Year as the team finished the season 33-2.
"USD is very excited to be able to hire a coach of Ryun's quality to guide the women's basketball program into NCAA Division I," Nielsen said. "Coach Williams will be a great addition to the Coyote family. He understands what it means to be a Coyote after earning his bachelor's and master's degree here, playing for coach Dave Boots and serving as an assistant coach."
In his 10 seasons at Wayne State, Williams took over a program that had won just 13 games the previous two seasons and turned it into an NCAA Tournament team. His team's recorded 20 wins or more in three of the last four seasons and made appearances in the NCAA Division II North Central Region tournament in two of the last three seasons. While at Wayne State, he compiled a 181-105 record (.632) and became the winningest women's basketball coach in school history.
"South Dakota is an outstanding University with so much to offer, this was a very tough decision," said Williams. "Wayne State is an incredible place with incredible players and people, but this opportunity to lead my alma mater, an opportunity that my family and I are extremely grateful for. The University of South Dakota is the right place for us to be and we could not be more excited to come back to the place that gave us our start. I have the utmost respect for coach Lavin, who has been a great friend over the years and it is a privilege to take over his team and build on the momentum he established. I can't wait to get to work and coach the heck out of this team."
The university has scheduled a 2:00 p.m., press conference on Tuesday, April 8 to introduce Williams as the new women's basketball coach.
Lavin, who was the head coach at USD for 14 seasons and was a head coach for a total of 26 seasons, announced his retirement before the start of the 2007-08 season. After announcing his retirement, Lavin guided the Coyotes on an unforgettable run to the NCAA Division II national championship game. Prior to the start of the Elite Eight, he was named the Russell Athletic/WBCA NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Coach of the Year as the team finished the season 33-2.
"USD is very excited to be able to hire a coach of Ryun's quality to guide the women's basketball program into NCAA Division I," Nielsen said. "Coach Williams will be a great addition to the Coyote family. He understands what it means to be a Coyote after earning his bachelor's and master's degree here, playing for coach Dave Boots and serving as an assistant coach."
In his 10 seasons at Wayne State, Williams took over a program that had won just 13 games the previous two seasons and turned it into an NCAA Tournament team. His team's recorded 20 wins or more in three of the last four seasons and made appearances in the NCAA Division II North Central Region tournament in two of the last three seasons. While at Wayne State, he compiled a 181-105 record (.632) and became the winningest women's basketball coach in school history.
"South Dakota is an outstanding University with so much to offer, this was a very tough decision," said Williams. "Wayne State is an incredible place with incredible players and people, but this opportunity to lead my alma mater, an opportunity that my family and I are extremely grateful for. The University of South Dakota is the right place for us to be and we could not be more excited to come back to the place that gave us our start. I have the utmost respect for coach Lavin, who has been a great friend over the years and it is a privilege to take over his team and build on the momentum he established. I can't wait to get to work and coach the heck out of this team."
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