27-year coaching veteran Kip Drown will helm the Women’s team in the 2015-2016 season. Drown has an extensive career in coaching basketball, and has helped turn around many struggling programs in his tenure.

“The program here has been down the last few years,” Drown said. “The previous four jobs I had I inherited all programs that were coming off losing seasons. I’ve experienced turning programs around.”

Drown has previously coached at Southwest Baptist, Georgia Southwestern, Grand Canyon and CSU-Pueblo and has a career record of 463-336 (.579). He led CSU-Pueblo to a winning record in every season he coached there and reached the NCAA II Tournament seven times.

            The Eagles have struggled the past few years. They are coming off an 8-25 season, including just a 2-18 mark in the Sun Belt, which tied them with South Alabama in last place in the conference. The Eagles ranked in the bottom in multiple statistical categories, including last in scoring margin, tenth in scoring defense and ninth in scoring offense.

            “We were in a lot of games, competitive in a lot of games, just didn’t finish it off,” Drown said. “That’s the next level we’re trying to go to, to play 40 minutes and execute at the end of the game, start putting nails in that coffin.”

            Drown said the transition has been smooth and a lot of that is credit to the players willingness to learn and get better.

            “We have the talent, we have the ability. I can’t say enough about how coachable our kids have been,” Drown said. “I’ve been really pleased with our kids. They’ve been so coachable, great to work with.”

            It will take some time for Drown to implement his system and teach the players and assistants, but is ready to take on that challenge and opportunity with the Eagles.

            “It’s been ten years since I’ve had to teach an entire team a system,” Drown said. “We’re having to teach all the coaches, teach all the players. We’re trying to grow together as a team, grow together as a family, and on the court trying to become a good basketball team.”