List of Coaching Candidates for Vols Basketball
Feb 7, 2015; Boulder, CO, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach Tad Boyle during the second half against the Utah Utes at Coors Events Center. The Utes won 79-51. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
Tad Boyle, Colorado Buffaloes
Record: 164-133 overall in 9 seasons, 108-67 in 5 seasons at Colorado
Conference Titles: 1 Pac-12 Conference Tournament Title
NCAA Tournament Appearances: 3
Salary: $1.49 million
Tad Boyle, 52, played under legendary head coach Larry Brown at Kansas from 1981-85, and he’s been a head coach in the state of Colorado since 2006. He coached Northern Colorado from 2006-10 and took over for the Colorado Buffaloes for the 2010-11 season.
Boyle’s very fist Northern Colorado team went 4-24 in the 2006-07 season. But by his 4th season, Boyle had the Bears nearly on the opposite end of the spectrum at 25-8 in the 2009-10 season. He used that dramatic turnaround to land the head coaching position for the flagship university of the state, and he’s been there ever since.
Boyle led Colorado to the NIT semifinals in his 1st season, then he took them to 3 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. Their berth in the 2011-12 season was their 1st NCAA Tournament appearance since 2003 and he led them to their 1st NCAA Tournament victory in 15 years.
Most recently, Boyle’s Buffaloes went 16-18 and were bounced in the CIT quarterfinals. Before this season, however, he had won 20+ games at Colorado every season, including a program-record 24 wins twice. He even led the Buffaloes to the Pac-12 Conference Tournament Championship in their inaugural season in the conference in 2011-12.
Boyle also has a Tennessee connection: He served as an assistant coach under Jerry Green in 1997 when the Vols own 20 games and made it to the NCAA Tournament.
In 9 seasons, Boyle has proven he can turn around a program and make the NCAA Tournament with a school not known for known for postseason success. He recently signed an extension through 2019 with Colorado, but his salary isn’t too demanding, and his age isn’t a big concern either.