 Eustachy in 2017 | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1955-12-01)December 1, 1955 (age 69) Alameda, California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Long Beach State |
| Playing career | |
| 1975–1976 | Citrus CC |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1979–1981 | Citrus CC (assistant) |
| 1981–1986 | Mississippi State (assistant) |
| 1986–1987 | Idaho (assistant) |
| 1987–1989 | Utah (assistant) |
| 1989–1990 | Ball State (assistant) |
| 1990–1993 | Idaho |
| 1993–1998 | Utah State |
| 1998–2003 | Iowa State |
| 2004–2012 | Southern Miss |
| 2012–2018 | Colorado State |
| 2023–2024 | Boise State (Senior advisor) |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 523–330 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| Big 12 tournament (2000) 2Big 12 regular season (2000, 2001) Big West tournament (1998) 3Big West regular season (1995, 1997, 1998) Big Sky regular season (1993) | |
| Awards | |
| AP Coach of the Year (2000) Henry Iba Award (2000) Mountain West Coach of the Year (2017) Conference USA Coach of the Year (2012) 2×Big 12 Coach of the Year (2000, 2001) 2×Big West Coach of the Year (1995, 1998) | |
Larry Robert Eustachy (born December 1, 1955 inAlameda, California)[1] is an Americancollege basketball coach, most recently the head coach of theColorado State Rams(2012–2018).[2] He was previously the head coach atIdaho(1990–1993),Utah State(1993–1998),Iowa State(1998–2003), andSouthern Mississippi(2004–2012).
Eustachy was theAPCoach of the Year in2000 after leadingIowa State to the Elite Eight in theNCAA tournament.
At age 34, Eustachy became a head coach at Idaho in April1990,[3][4] succeedingKermit Davis, who left thePalouse forTexas A&M after consecutiveBig Skytitles andNCAA tournament appearances. He had been an assistant inMoscow for a season (1986–87) underTim Floyd, and Eustachy's first-year salary as head coach was $52,500.[5] In his third year, he led the Vandals to the regular season championship in1993,[6] but they lost thetourney title game athome.[7] Idaho was not selected for theNIT,[8] and Eustachy departed a few days later.[9][10]
Eustachy took over the reins inLogan in March 1993,[9][11] and had a very successful five-year stretch at Utah State; his teams won theBig West regular season three times and won theconference tournament in 1998. The Aggies were seeded thirteenth in theWest region of theNCAA tournament, and fell toMaryland in the first round atSacramento.[12][13]
Eustachy was named head coach atIowa State in late July 1998,[14][15][16] after Tim Floyd left for theNBA'sChicago Bulls. Following a lacklusterfirst season, the Cyclones had their best season in school history in2000. They won a school record 32 games and came within one game of theFinal Four, and Eustachy was namedAPCoach of the Year. After consecutiveBig 12 Conference titles in2001, he signed a contract extension that, with incentives, made him the highest-paid state employee in Iowa.
On April 28, 2003,The Des Moines Register carried pictures of Eustachy kissing several young women and holding a beer at a party near theUniversity of Missouri's campus just hours after theTigers defeated hisCyclones on Tuesday, January 21.[17][18] TheRegister also reported that Eustachy had been seen at a fraternity party atKansas State hours after his team lost to the Wildcats.[19][17][20][21] On April 30, athletic directorBruce Van De Velde suspended Eustachy with pay and recommended that he be fired for violating a morals clause in his contract.[22] Eustachy held a press conference in which he apologized for his behavior and admitted he had recently begun rehab treatment for alcoholism.[23][24] He initially indicated he would contest the suspension, but announced his resignation on May 5.[25][26]
During the scandal, theRegister reported that Iowa State documents showed that the NCAA cited Eustachy for rules violations related to paying players, includingJackson Vroman, for making free throws.[27]
On March 25, 2004, after a year out of coaching, Eustachy was hired as head coach atSouthern Miss.[28] In 2008, he took a leave of absence on January 9 to be with his ailing mother.[29] Following the 2008–09 season, he returned his $25,000 bonus from the university, saying that after a disappointing season, he did not feel as though he had earned it.[30]
In 2011, Southern Miss went 21–10 and 9–7 in Conference USA play.[31] The team failed to receive a bid to theNCAA tournament and turned down invites to theCBI andCIT.[32][33]
On February 25, 2012, Eustachy recorded his 400th career victory.[34]
In that same 2012 season, Eustachy led Southern Miss to a 25-9 season, a second-place finish in Conference USA, and the Golden Eagles’ first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 1990, earning an at-large bid as an #9 seed. They would lose in the first round to #8 seed Kansas State. This still remains as the only appearance for Southern Miss in the NCAA Tournament since 1990, and just their 3rd overall appearance (1989, 1990, and 2012).
On April 12, 2012, Eustachy left Southern Miss and was introduced as the 19th head basketball coach inColorado State history, afterTim Miles left for Nebraska of theBig Ten Conference.[35] Eustachy inherited a senior-ladenroster that featured four returning starters and Minnesota-transferColton Iverson. The Rams were coming off a 20–12 season in which they made theNCAA tournament and lost toMurray State in the second round. CSU greatly improved in rebounding and defensively, leading to a historic season for the program. CSU cracked the top 25 rankings for the first time since 1954 during the season. At 11–5 the Rams finished second in the Mountain West, their highest finish in program history. For the second straight year, the Rams earned an at-large bid to theNCAA tournament, this time as a No. 8 seed against Missouri. The Rams defeated the Tigers 84–72 to give Eustachy his first NCAA Tournament win since the Elite Eight run at Iowa State. It was CSU's first NCAA Tournament win since1989 and a program record 26th win. CSU lost in the second round to top-seededLouisville, ending the season 26–9.
In August 2013, Eustachy signed a new contract to become the highest-paid coach in the Mountain West Conference. He has a base salary of $910,000 per year and will increase by two percent each following season, along with bonuses on top of it.[36]
In 2017, Eustachy recorded his 500th career victory on January 7.[37] On March 5, he was named Mountain West Conference Coach of the year, after leading a CSU team with only seven available players to a second place conference finish in the MWC.[38]
In February 2017,The Coloradoan revealed that a 2014 Colorado State internal investigation recommended Eustachy's firing due to creating a culture of fear and intimidation by emotionally and verbally abusing his players and staff. However, Colorado State retained Eustachy and required him to attend anger management sessions, apologize to his team, and follow a zero-tolerance policy for directing profane language towards others or throwing or hitting objects, for which violations would result in termination for cause.[39]
On February 3, 2018, Colorado State placed Eustachy on administrative leave and promoted associate head coachSteve Barnes to interim head coach pending the completion of another inquiry into Eustachy's behavior.[40] Colorado State confirmed the existence of that second investigation three days earlier on January 31;[41] Eustachy resigned on February 26.[2]
On July 27, 2023, it was announced that Eustachy will be working withLeon Rice and theBoise State men’s basketball team as a volunteer senior advisor to the head coach for the upcoming season.
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Idaho Vandals(Big Sky Conference)(1990–1993) | |||||||||
| 1990–91 | Idaho | 19–11 | 11–5 | 3rd | |||||
| 1991–92 | Idaho | 18–14 | 10–6 | T–3rd | |||||
| 1992–93 | Idaho | 24–8 | 11–3 | 1st | |||||
| Idaho: | 61–33 (.649) | 32–14 (.696) | |||||||
| Utah State Aggies(Big West Conference)(1993–1998) | |||||||||
| 1993–94 | Utah State | 14–13 | 11–7 | T–2nd | |||||
| 1994–95 | Utah State | 21–8 | 14–4 | 1st | NIT First Round | ||||
| 1995–96 | Utah State | 18–15 | 10–8 | 4th | |||||
| 1996–97 | Utah State | 20–9 | 12–4 | 1st | |||||
| 1997–98 | Utah State | 25–8 | 13–3 | 1st | NCAA Division I Round of 64 | ||||
| Utah State: | 98–53 (.649) | 60–26 (.698) | |||||||
| Iowa State Cyclones(Big 12 Conference)(1998–2003) | |||||||||
| 1998–99 | Iowa State | 15–15 | 6–10 | 9th | |||||
| 1999–00 | Iowa State | 32–5 | 14–2 | 1st | NCAA Division I Elite Eight | ||||
| 2000–01 | Iowa State | 25–6 | 13–3 | 1st | NCAA Division I Round of 64 | ||||
| 2001–02 | Iowa State | 12–19 | 4–12 | T–10th | |||||
| 2002–03 | Iowa State | 17–14 | 5–11 | T–9th | NIT Second Round | ||||
| Iowa State: | 101–59 (.631) | 42–38 (.525) | |||||||
| Southern Miss Golden Eagles(Conference USA)(2004–2012) | |||||||||
| 2004–05 | Southern Miss | 11–17 | 2–14 | 14th | |||||
| 2005–06 | Southern Miss | 10–21 | 3–11 | 11th | |||||
| 2006–07 | Southern Miss | 20–11 | 9–7 | T–4th | |||||
| 2007–08 | Southern Miss | 19–14 | 9–7 | T–4th | |||||
| 2008–09 | Southern Miss | 15–17 | 4–12 | T–10th | |||||
| 2009–10 | Southern Miss | 20–14 | 8–8 | 6th | CIT First Round | ||||
| 2010–11 | Southern Miss | 22–10 | 9–7 | T–5th | |||||
| 2011–12 | Southern Miss | 25–9 | 11–5 | 2nd | NCAA Division I Round of 64 | ||||
| Southern Miss: | 142–113 (.557) | 55–71 (.437) | |||||||
| Colorado State Rams(Mountain West Conference)(2012–2018) | |||||||||
| 2012–13 | Colorado State | 26–9 | 11–5 | 2nd | NCAA Division I Round of 32 | ||||
| 2013–14 | Colorado State | 16–16 | 7–11 | T–8th | |||||
| 2014–15 | Colorado State | 27–7 | 13–5 | 3rd | NIT First Round | ||||
| 2015–16 | Colorado State | 18–16 | 8–10 | T–6th | |||||
| 2016–17 | Colorado State | 24–12 | 13–5 | 2nd | NIT Second Round | ||||
| 2017–18 | Colorado State | 10–14 | 3–8 | ||||||
| Colorado State: | 121–74 (.621) | 55–44 (.556) | |||||||
| Total: | 523–330 (.613) | ||||||||
National champion Postseason invitational champion | |||||||||
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)