Thomas Duane Collen (born December 21, 1953) is an American college basketball coach who was most recently the women's basketball head coach at the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States. It is the Flagship campus, flagship campus of the University of Arkan ...

Early life

Collen was born December 21, 1953 in

Lancaster, Ohio Lancaster ( ) is a city in Fairfield County, Ohio, and its county seat. The population was 40,552 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Ohio, Ohio's 30th largest city, having surpassed Warren, Ohio, Warren and Fin ...

, and received his bachelor's degree in

physical education Physical education is an academic subject taught in schools worldwide, encompassing Primary education, primary, Secondary education, secondary, and sometimes tertiary education. It is often referred to as Phys. Ed. or PE, and in the United Stat ...

from

Bowling Green State University Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is a Public university, public research university in Bowling Green, Ohio, United States. The main academic and residential campus is south of Toledo, Ohio. The university has nationally recognized progr ...

in 1977. He earned a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in health education from

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public university, public research university in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the second-oldest List of colleges and universities in Ohio, university in Ohi ...

(of Ohio) in 1982, and another in 1983 in recreational programming.

Coaching career

Collen began his coaching career at

in 1981, where he worked for three seasons. He was assistant coach at the

University of Utah The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...

from 1984 to 1986, and at the

Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...

from 1986 to 1993. In 1993, he moved to the University of Arkansas, where he was assistant coach and recruiting coordinator under head coach Gary Blair until 1997. He was named assistant head coach for his last two seasons. The year after he left, Arkansas went to the 1998 Final Four of the

NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship The NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament, sometimes referred to as Women's March Madness, is a single-elimination tournament played each spring in the United States, currently featuring 68 women's college basketball teams from the Div ...

. Arkansas' women's athletic director Bev Lewis said "his reputation as a recruiter is among the best in the country." Collen left the University of Arkansas in 1997 to take the head coaching job at

Colorado State University Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado, United States. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University Syst ...

. Colorado State went to the NCAA Tournament four times in five seasons under his leadership.Collen eyes return to national prominence for Arkansas
(March 23, 2007) ''

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

.com''. Accessed 2007-12-21. In 1999, his team played in the NCAA Sweet Sixteen, and Collen was named coach of the year. His winning percentage of 79.6% (129 wins and 33 losses) ranked fourth among Division I women's basketball coaches at the time. After the 2001–2002 season, Collen accepted a position at

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

but resigned the next day over a discrepancy discovered on his resume. He had listed two master's degrees from Miami University, but Miami had reported only one degree in two subjects. Miami later acknowledged its mistake. By then both Vanderbilt and Colorado State had new head coaches. Collen took a year off from coaching, working as a television commentator and a consultant for the WNBA. On March 11, 2003, the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public university, public research university in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. Chartered in 1798 as the Jefferson Seminary, it became in the 19t ...

hired Collen as women's basketball head coach; this was the second time athletic director

Tom Jurich Thomas M. Jurich (born July 26, 1956) is an American former college sports administrator and former football player. He previously served as the vice president and director of athletics at the University of Louisville. He was hired at the Univer ...

hired Collen to that position after doing the same at Colorado State in 1997. During Collen's four seasons, Louisville had an 87–37 record and made the NCAA tournament three times. In 2007, Collen returned to

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

, this time as women's basketball head coach. Under his leadership the team began the 2007 season with a school record 15 consecutive wins.#25 Lady'Backs gun down Lady Raiders
(January 5, 2008) ''Ladybacks.com''. Accessed 2008-01-06. Collen was dismissed from his position at the University of Arkansas on March 7, 2014, following a 19–11 season.

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Collen, Tom 1953 births Living people Arkansas Razorbacks women's basketball coaches Bowling Green State University alumni Colorado State Rams women's basketball coaches Louisville Cardinals women's basketball coaches Miami University alumni American women's basketball coaches