Oregon State men’s basketball head coach Wayne Tinkle received a two-year contract extension that takes him through the 2021-22 season, Vice President/Director of Athletics Todd Stansbury announced Tuesday.
In his first two seasons, Tinkle won 36 games, including upsets over two Top 25 teams, and led the Beavers to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1990. He became the second Oregon State coach in history to win 17-plus games in each of his first two seasons (Bob Hager, 1923-24).
“We’re excited to have the opportunity to continue to build the Oregon State men’s basketball program,” Tinkle said. “I want to thank President Ed Ray and Todd Stansbury for their trust and confidence in our staff and program. We all love Corvallis and are thrilled to be a part of the OSU family and truly respect the responsibility that brings.
“We’re thankful to be at an institution such as Oregon State that encourages us to teach our student-athletes to first learn how to win in the community and in the classroom, enhancing their college experiences and knowing that will lead to success on the court.”
In Year 1, he guided a team picked to finish last in the Pac-12 after losing its top five scorers from the previous season to a 17-14 overall record, the most home wins (15) in school history, and victories over Pac-12 champion Arizona and NCAA Sweet-16 finisher UCLA.
In Year 2, he surpassed those milestones and capped another season of notable accomplishments when the Beavers garnered their first berth in the NCAA Tournament in 26 seasons. OSU finished in a three-way tie for sixth place with a 9-9 Pac-12 record, its best conference record since 1993. The Beavers won 17 games in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 1989 (22-8) and 1990 (22-7).
“What our men’s basketball program has been able to accomplish in such a short period of time under the leadership of Coach Tinkle has not only been recognized regionally, but also nationally,” Stansbury said. “I’m thrilled to announce to Beaver Nation that Coach Tinkle will represent Oregon State University on and off the court for the foreseeable future and look forward to continued success.”
Under Tinkle the Beavers are 29-5 when leading at halftime, 30-2 when leading with five minutes to play, 19-1 when outrebounding its opponent and 9-2 in games decided by five points or less. They are also 27-5 (.844) at home in Gill Coliseum.
The 50-year-old Tinkle, who signed a six-year contract when he was hired on May 19, 2014 after eight successful seasons at the University of Montana, became the fourth OSU coach since 1928 to record a winning record in his first season. He joined Beaver legends Slats Gill, Paul Valenti and Jim Anderson in that exclusive fraternity.
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Photo Courtesy OSU Athletics
