Waller Named Director of Basketball Operations

Lincoln ----Tim Waller, a respected administrator and former coach, has been named Director of Basketball Operations for the Nebraska men's basketball team, head coach Barry Collier announced Wednesday. Waller, who replaces Dave Campbell after he left to take a head coaching position in the junior college ranks, will handle team travel arrangements, scheduling, budgeting and other duties as assigned by Collier.

"We are excited to have Tim Waller on our staff," Collier said. "His experience across the board will serve us well toward our future success."

Waller joins the Huskers after spending the past five years at Knoxville College in Knoxville, Tenn., where he was the men's basketball coach (since 1998) and the Vice President for Student Affairs (since 2001). He was a member of the president's executive council, the principal administrative body of the College, and was responsible for all aspects of student life at the 400-student school. Waller oversaw student activities, discipline, housing, food service, clubs and organizations within the Student Affairs department. He was also a faculty member at Knoxville, serving as an assistant professor of communications.

On the court, he was a successful college coach for 25 years, most recently at Knoxville where he resurrected the program after a one-year absence from competition prior to his arrival. He guided Knoxville to a 97-61 record over the past five seasons, including a 23-8 record in 2001-02. Waller was responsible for budget preparation, scheduling, team travel, equipment procurement, marketing and promotions in addition to his recruiting and game preparation duties as head coach.

An organized and creative administrator, Waller also has served as regional director of the Black Coaches Association and Chairman of the Assistant Coaches Committee of the National Association of Basketball Coaches.

Despite enjoying success in his first head coaching position, Waller saw the opportunity to join the Huskers as a hard one to pass up.

"I've always been a Nebraska football fan despite growing up just 30 miles from the University of Michigan, so this was a rare opportunity that came along and there was no doubt in my mind that it was something I had to be involved with," Waller said. "It is a great opportunity to join Barry, whom I have known for 15 or more years and who is without a doubt one of the finest men in college basketball. I'm as happy as I can be."

Before taking over the Knoxville program, Waller was associate head coach at Idaho State (1997-98), where he managed day-to-day basketball operations including handling budget proposals, team travel and compliance. He served single seasons as an assistant coach at Central Michigan (1996-97) and Alabama State (1995-96) after spending four years as an assistant coach at Howard University (1991-95). Waller coordinated the team's defensive efforts at Howard, helping the Bison rank seventh nationally in field-goal percentage defense in 1993-94. He also has experience overseeing the team's academic progress and as a summer basketball camp director.

Waller began his coaching career in 1978 when he spent one season as an assistant at Elmhurst College (1978-79), before moving on as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Western Michigan (1979-82), and Eastern Illinois (1982-84). His longest coaching stint came at Miami (Ohio), where he was an assistant coach for seven seasons (1984-91).

A native of Detroit, Waller earned a bachelor's of science degree in communications from Western Michigan in 1979. Waller has two sons, Dale, a sophomore at Miami (Ohio), and Nate, a high school senior in Kalamazoo, Mich.