EL PASO, TEXAS – Tim Floyd was named UTEP’s 18th men’s basketball head coach on Tuesday, returning to the place where he landed his first full-time coaching position over 30 years ago.
“We’re all delighted to welcome Tim Floyd back home,” UTEP President Dr. Diana Natalicio said. “He brings Miner pride and tradition to the UTEP men’s basketball program. As a former assistant to coach Don Haskins, he’s uniquely qualified to bring glory back to Glory Road.”
“We are very pleased that Tim is coming back to UTEP,” Director of Athletics Bob Stull said. “Not only has he been a successful college coach, taking three different teams to the NCAA Tournament, but he has been a head coach in the NBA as well. He is an outstanding coach and recruiter, and is well-connected in the El Paso community from his days as an assistant to the legendary coach Don Haskins.”
Floyd, an assistant coach at UTEP from 1978-86, has posted a 328-180 record in 16 seasons as a college head coach. His teams have made eight NCAA Tournament appearances and three trips to the NIT in previous stops at Idaho (1986-88), New Orleans (1988-94), Iowa State (1994-98) and USC (2005-09).
Floyd led Iowa State and USC to the “Sweet 16” of the NCAA Tournament in 1997 and 2007 respectively, and New Orleans advanced three rounds in the NIT in 1990. Floyd’s teams have also won three conference tournaments (New Orleans 1990, Iowa State 1996, USC 2009), while posting ten 20-win seasons.
Floyd, 56, was also a head coach in the National Basketball Association for five seasons with the Chicago Bulls (1998-2002) and New Orleans Hornets (2003-04). He led a major rebuilding effort with the Bulls following the departure of coach Phil Jackson, Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. Floyd directed the Hornets to the 2004 NBA playoffs, where they lost to Miami in a seven-game first round series.
Most recently, Floyd was an assistant coach with the Hornets after setting school records by leading USC to three straight 20-win seasons and three consecutive NCAA Tournaments from 2007-09. Floyd posted 85 wins at USC, more than any other Trojan coach in a four-year period. He recorded his 300th college coaching victory on Feb. 7, 2008 at Washington. USC’s 25 wins during the 2006-07 season were a school record.
Not only does Floyd have a reputation for being one of the top coaches in college basketball, but he has excelled at player development as well. Thirteen players have made it to the NBA in Floyd’s 16 seasons as a college head coach, including three who did not play high school basketball.
Floyd began his coaching career as a student assistant at his alma mater, Louisiana Tech, in 1977 before moving on to UTEP where he was a part of the Miners’ run to three NCAA Tournaments (1984-86) and three NITs (1980-81, 1983). While serving as UTEP’s primary recruiter, Floyd put together classes of players that won five straight Western Athletic Conference titles (1983-87) and appeared in seven consecutive NCAA tournaments (1984-90).
In his first season as a college head coach at Idaho (1986-87), Floyd orchestrated a 16-14 record with a team coming off three straight last place finishes in the Big Sky Conference. Floyd was 35-25 in two seasons with the Vandals before moving to the University of New Orleans, where he engineered five postseason tournament appearances in six seasons. UNO averaged 21 victories under Floyd, who became one of just four NCAA Division I coaches to win four conference championships in their first five years at a school. He was twice named his conference’s Coach of the Year at New Orleans (American South in 1989 and Sun Belt in 1993).
He compiled an 81-47 mark at Iowa State, becoming the only Cyclone coach to post three consecutive 20-win seasons and lead the team to three straight NCAA Tournament first round victories. Three of his teams ended the season ranked in the nation’s top 20, including the 1997 squad that rose to as high as fourth in the country. ISU won a then-school record 24 games in his second season (1995-96). He was tabbed the Big Eight Coach of the Year and was runner-up for AP National Coach of the Year after leading the Cyclones to their first-ever Big Eight Tournament championship.
A native of Hattiesburg, Miss., Floyd spent two seasons as a walk-on at Southern Miss before earning a scholarship at Louisiana Tech. He received his bachelor’s degree in health and physical education from Louisiana Tech in 1977. Growing up, Floyd worked summers for the New Orleans Saints, who held their training camp in Hattiesburg at the time.
Floyd and his wife, Beverly, have a daughter, Shannon. His daughter had a brief role and Floyd served as the basketball advisor for the 2006 movie Glory Road, which chronicles UTEP’s (then known as Texas Western College) drive to the historic 1966 national title.
Floyd’s late father, Lee, was a member of UTEP’s (then known as the College of Mines and Mettalurgy) 1941 Border Conference championship team and was also a head basketball coach at the college level. Lee Floyd is the second-winningest coach in Southern Miss history, fashioning a mark of 246-148 from 1949-54 and 1962-71.
Tim Floyd College Head Coaching Record
Season School Overall Conference Conference Finish/Postseason
1986-87 Idaho 16-14 5-9 t5th Big Sky
1987-88 Idaho 19-11 11-5 2nd Big Sky
1988-89 New Orleans 19-11 7-3 1st American South; NIT first round
1989-90 New Orleans 21-11 8-2 t1st ASC; ASC Tournament Champs; NIT quarterfinals
1990-91 New Orleans 23-8 9-3 t1st ASC; NCAA first round
1991-92 New Orleans 18-14 9-7 7th Sun Belt
1992-93 New Orleans 26-4 18-0 1st SBC; 2nd SBC Tournament; NCAA first round
1993-94 New Orleans 20-10 12-6 3rd SBC; NIT second round
1994-95 Iowa State 23-11 6-8 5th Big Eight; 2nd Big Eight Tournament; NCAA second round
1995-96 Iowa State 24-9 9-5 2nd Big Eight; Big Eight Tournament Champs; NCAA second round
1996-97 Iowa State 22-9 10-6 t3rd Big Eight; NCAA Sweet 16
1997-98 Iowa State 12-18 5-11 11th Big Eight
2005-06 USC 17-13 8-10 6th Pac-10
2006-07 USC 25-12 11-7 t3rd Pac-10; 2nd Pac-10 Tournament; NCAA Sweet 16
2007-08 USC 21-12 11-7 t3rd Pac-10; Pac-10 Tournament semifinals; NCAA first round
2008-09 USC 22-13 9-9 t5th Pac-10; Pac-10 Tournament Champs; NCAA second round
Totals 328-180 148-98
Tim Floyd NBA Head Coaching Record
Season Team Record Postseason
1998-99 Chicago Bulls 13-37
1999-2000 Chicago Bulls 17-65
2000-01 Chicago Bulls 15-67
2001-02 Chicago Bulls 4-21
2003-04 New Orleans Hornets 41-41 NBA Playoffs first round
Totals 93-235
Tim Floyd’s NBA Players
Player School Year NBA Team(s)
Raymond Brown Idaho 1988 Utah
Tony Harris New Orleans 1990 Philadelphia, Boston
*Earvin Johnson New Orleans 1993 Seattle, Denver, Milwaukee, Minnesota
*Michael McDonald New Orleans 1994 Charlotte, Boston
Fred Hoiberg Iowa State 1995 Indiana, Chicago, Minnesota
Loren Meyer Iowa State 1995 Dallas, Phoenix
*Kelvin Cato Iowa State 1997 Portland, Houston, Orlando
Dedric Willoughby Iowa State 1997 Chicago
Marcus Fizer Iowa State 2000 Chicago, Milwaukee
Paul Shirley Iowa State 2000 Chicago, Phoenix
Gabe Pruitt USC 2007 Boston
Nick Young USC 2007 Washington
O.J. Mayo USC 2008 Memphis
