Huskers Name Barry Collier Head Basketball Coach

Lincoln -- Nebraska Director of Athletics Bill Byrne announced Wednesday that Barry Collier has been hired as the 25th head coach in Nebraska men's basketball history.

Collier comes to Nebraska after 11 highly successful seasons at Butler University, where he guided the Bulldogs to a 196-132 record. The 45-year-old Collier has coached his alma mater to nine winning seasons in the past 10 years, including each of the past seven seasons. Before Collier's arrival at the Indianapolis school, Butler had posted just three winning seasons in the previous 15 years.

Byrne said Collier is one of the most respected coaches in the country and noted the excellent all-around program Collier has built in the past decade.

"I'm delighted that Barry has agreed to be our new men's basketball coach," Byrne said. "He brings the right values that will make him an easy fit in Nebraska. He is also an outstanding coach. I believe that defense is the key to every great basketball program and Barry's teams play great defense. He is an outstanding developer of young people. His 100 percent graduation rate, coupled with his genuine affection for his athletes, makes him an outstanding person to direct the future of our student-athletes. I couldn't be more pleased."

Butler has posted five 20-win seasons under Collier, including 22 or more wins in each of the past four seasons. The Bulldogs had just two 20-win seasons in their first 91 seasons of intercollegiate basketball before Collier's arrival. In the last four years, Collier's teams have compiled a 90-39 record and made four consecutive postseason appearances, a Butler school record.

The Bulldogs reached the NCAA Tournament in 1997, 1998 and 2000, after not reaching the national tournament in the previous 35 seasons. In the first round of this year's East Regional, Butler took eventual national runner-up Florida to overtime before losing, 69-68, on a buzzer beater. The loss to Florida ended Butler's school-record 15-game winning streak. The Bulldogs finished the 1999-2000 campaign with a 23-8 overall mark.

In addition to three NCAA appearances, Butler also reached the National Invitation Tournament three times under Collier, most recently in 1999, when the Bulldogs advanced to the third round, before falling to Clemson. Collier also led Butler to NIT appearances in 1991 and 1992.

Collier has made Butler very competitive on the national level, while making the Bulldogs a dominant force in the Midwestern Collegiate Conference. The Bulldogs have won two MCC regular-season titles under Collier (1997 and 2000). In 1999-2000, Butler was 12-2 in league play, including victories in its final 11 conference games and over the past five seasons, the Bulldogs have posted a 55-19 league record. Collier's teams have finished either first or second in the MCC in seven of the past 10 seasons and his outstanding conference record has been noticed. Collier has been named Midwestern Collegiate Conference Coach of the Year four times, including 1991, 1997, 1999 and 2000.

Collier's hard work has helped Butler earn the reputation as one of the nation's most disciplined teams. His teams have annually been very stingy on the defensive end and well-schooled on offense. In 1999-2000, Butler limited its opponents to 55.7 points per game and held 11 foes to 50 points or fewer. On offense, the Bulldogs connected on better than 47 percent from the floor, nearly 38 percent from 3-point range and committed less than 13 turnovers per game.

The discipline Collier has instilled in the Butler program does not end on the basketball court. It carries over to the classroom, where Collier's players have consistently excelled. At the completion of the 2000 spring semester, all 36 players who have completed their senior seasons under Collier will have graduated.

Collier prepared for his head coaching career by serving as an assistant coach at five schools in the previous 13 years. He began his coaching career at Rose Hulman Institute, then served in succession as an assistant coach at Seattle Central Community College, the University of Idaho, the University of Oregon and Stanford University.

While Collier was an assistant at Stanford under Mike Montgomery, he helped begin the turnaround of the Cardinal program, assisting in trips to the 1988 NIT and the 1989 NCAA Tournament, when Stanford won 26 games and finished second in the Pac-10 Conference.

Byrne and Collier were first affiliated during Collier's stint as an Oregon assistant coach for three seasons from 1983 to 1986. Byrne was an Associate Athletic Director at Oregon during the 1983-84 season, then was promoted to Director of Athletics in May of 1984.

The announcement of Collier as Butler's head coach in the spring of 1989 marked his return to the Indianapolis campus. Collier first went to Butler as a student-athlete in 1974, following two seasons at Miami Dade South Junior College. The 6-7 Collier played basketball for the Bulldogs for two seasons, leading the team in rebounding twice and finishing second on the team in scoring once. He was named a Butler co-captain as a senior and was awarded the team's co-MVP trophy for the 1975-76 campaign. During his senior season, Collier averaged 15.2 points and 7.5 rebounds and earned first-team all-conference honors in the Indiana Collegiate Conference.

Collier attended Miami Palmetto High School in Miami, Fla., and later received an Associate of Arts degree from Miami Dade South. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Butler in 1976 and a Master of Science degree from Indiana State University in 1977.

Collier and his wife, Annette, have been married since 1975. The couple has three sons, Casey 17, Brady, 15 and Clay 12.

Collier replaces Danny Nee who was Nebraska's coach for the past 14 seasons and finished his NU career with a 254-190 record, the most victories in school history.

The appointment of Collier marks the ninth head coaching hire in Byrne's eight years as Nebraska's Director of Athletics. Byrne's hiring track record at Nebraska has been outstanding. Since coming to Lincoln, Byrne has hired Dan Kendig in 1994 for women's gymnastics (advanced to the NCAA Championships in five of the last six seasons); women's soccer coach John Walker in 1994 (advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament each of the last four years, including Elite Eight in 1996 and 1999); Paul Sanderford for women's basketball in 1997 (earned NCAA Tournament berths each of his first three seasons); Bill Straub for women's bowling in 1997 (won the national title in 1999); Dave Van Horn to lead the baseball program in 1998 (won school's first conference tournament championship in 1999, and earned first NCAA regional berth since 1985); football coach Frank Solich in 1997 (guided Nebraska to a Big 12 title and No. 2 final ranking in 1999); Karen Anthony for women's rifle in 1998 (finished third at NCAA Championships in program's second season); and John Cook for volleyball in 1999 (will be in first season in 2000).

Collier Year-by-Year at Butler

Season	Record	MCC Record	MCC Finish	Postseason
1989-1990	6-22	2-12	8th
1990-1991	18-11	10-4	2nd	0-1 in NIT
1991-1992	21-10	7-3	tie, 2nd	0-1 in NIT
1992-1993	11-17	5-9	tie, 5th
1993-1994	16-13	6-4	tie, 2nd
1994-1995	15-12	8-7	5th
1995-1996	19-8	12-4	2nd
1996-1997	23-10	12-4	1st	0-1 in NCAA
1997-1998	22-11	8-6	3rd	0-1 in NCAA
1998-1999	22-10	11-3	2nd	2-1 in NIT
1999-2000	23-8	12-2	1st	0-1 in NCAA
Overall	196-132	93-58	2 MCC Titles	3 NIT, 3 NCAA

 Collier's Assistant Coaching Experience

1976-1977	Assistant Coach, Rose-Hulman Institute
1977-1978	Assistant Coach, Seattle Central Community College
1978-1983	Assistant Coach, University of Idaho
1983-1986	Assistant Coach, University of Oregon
1986-1989	Assistant Coach, Stanford University