The Shorter University Department of Athletics announced today the hiring of Tyler Murray as its new head men’s basketball coach.
Murray, a longtime assistant and associate head coach at Shorter under former head coach Chad Warner, returns to the Hill after spending the 2014-15 season as an assistant at NCAA Division I and Big South Conference regular season champion Charleston Southern University.
“Murray played a key role in the success of our men’s basketball program during his six years as recruiting coordinator and associate coach,” said Shorter University President Dr. Don Dowless. “His experience paired with his love for Shorter University and his commitment to our mission of Transforming Lives through Christ makes him the ideal person to lead the program on the path to continued success. Tyler and his wife, Jessica, are both Shorter alumni, and we are proud to welcome them and their daughter back to the Shorter family.”
Shorter Interim Director of Athletics Matt Green added, “We are excited to welcome Tyler back to the Shorter family as our head men’s basketball coach. Tyler has a deep love for Shorter and the Rome community, is a proven recruiter, and has been a crucial part of highly successful programs at the Division II and Division I levels. He is dedicated to the growth and success of our student-athletes athletically, academically, and spiritually, and we look forward to the program’s future under Tyler.”
“I would like to thank Dr. Dowless and the search committee for granting me the opportunity to return to Shorter,” Murray said. “Shorter holds a special place in my heart, and I am excited to join a program that has built a tradition of success over the past decade. There are some tremendous pieces already in place, and I look forward to getting right to work.”
In six seasons as an assistant at Shorter under Warner, Murray helped guide the Hawks to their most successful run in program history. With Murray serving as recruiting coordinator, Shorter won 119 games, made two national tournament appearances, and captured the program’s first conference championship since 1977 during a record-setting 34-win season in 2011-12.
Murray was named the program’s associate head coach in 2012-13 as the Hawks won 21 games in their first season competing at the NCAA Division II level within the Gulf South Conference. Shorter ended up winning the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) national championship that season.
He departed for Charleston Southern following the 2013-14 campaign and helped the Bucs capture the Big South Conference regular season title. CSU earned an automatic berth into the National Invitation Tournament (NIT).
Murray played his collegiate basketball at Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia, one of the winningest Division III programs in the country, and led the Tigers to the program’s 10th Old Dominion Athletic Conference championship and a berth in the NCAA Division III National Tournament during his junior season in 2007. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Hampton-Sydney in 2008 and his Master of Arts from Shorter in 2010.
Murray and his wife, Jessica, a former standout volleyball student-athlete at Shorter, are parents to a 1-year-old daughter, Carson Grace
http://goshorterhawks.com/news/2015/4/13/MBB_0413153558.aspx?path=mbball
