Randy Monroe has been promoted to head men's basketball coach at UMBC, Director of Athletics Charles Brown announced. Monroe was hired after a series of on-campus interviews with student-athletes, faculty and administrators.
Monroe has been serving as acting head coach since March 2, and coached the Retrievers in their 65-59 First Round loss to Stony Brook in the America East Conference Tournament. Tom Sullivan resigned as head basketball coach on March 11.
Assistant Coaches Jeff Estis and John Schaller are expected to remain on the UMBC staff.
Monroe has been an assistant coach at UMBC since the 1994-95 season, a span of ten years. He was hired by Earl Hawkins, and retained when Tom Sullivan took over the following season.
Last spring, many people around the country learned what east coast basketball fans have known for a long time when the affable native of Philadelphia was one of 27 Division I coaches (all sports) nationally to receive AFLAC National Assistant Coach of the Year honors. The winners were selected from a field of more than 350,000 coaches across the nation. The criteria in the second annual AFLAC National Assistant Coach of the Year program allowed for coaches to win based on longevity, expertise, contributions to the school and community, and special achievements throughout their careers.
"This is a tremendous opportunity…an opportunity most assistant coaches live for," said Monroe. "I have been an assistant coach for 20 years, and perhaps some people in that position would have been upset not to get an opportunity earlier. The way I look at it, I gained a tremendous amount of experience and learned so much about the development of young people throughout the years. I believe that experience will serve me well as a head basketball coach.
"I would like to express my gratitude towards [UMBC President] Dr. (Freeman) Hrabowski, [UMBC Provost] Dr. (Arthur) Johnson, and Dr. Brown for giving me this opportunity and showing enough confidence in me to become the head basketball coach at UMBC. I will work as hard as I always have and be as committed as I've always been to this program and the young men that are a part of it. We will put a product on the floor that the UMBC community can be proud of."
Brown said, "In his ten years at UMBC, Randy has displayed all of the outstanding qualities necessary to be a Division I basketball coach. He has a passion for the game, a tremendous work ethic, knowledge and experience as a player and as a coach at various levels of Division I, and the personality to bring out the best in our players. I was also very impressed with the number of alumni and people in the community that contacted me in support of Randy."
Monroe had previously served as assistant coach at Vanderbilt University (1993-94), LaSalle University (1988-1993), and his alma mater, Cheyney University (1985-87). During his tenure at Vanderbilt, the Commodores finished the 1993-94 season at 20-12 and were the 1994 National Invitational Tournament finalists. While at LaSalle, the Explorers compiled a record of 119-39, won three Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference titles and gained three NCAA Tournament berths and one NIT berth. Cheyney averaged 24 wins per season in Monroe's two campaigns, and in 1986, they were the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Champions, the Eastern Regional Champions, and participants in the NCAA Division II Final Four in Springfield, Massachusetts.
In 1987-88, he assisted Dave "Lefty" Ervin at the William Penn Charter School, where the Quakers tied for the league title with a 20-10 record.
Monroe had an excellent playing career at Philadelphia University and Cheyney State University. In 1982, he was named one of the top freshmen on the east coast by Eastern Basketball Magazine. He earned a Bachelor of Science (Magna Cum Laude) in Recreation Administration from Cheyney in 1987.
Brown and Monroe are looking to a successful season next year. "I want to develop a winning attitude with everyone involved with the program," said Brown. "I would like to see improvement in every player in all phases of the game, and bring that all together to form a cohesive team. Ultimately, I want our team to become more competitive in the America East Conference, and contend for a conference title."
"Next year will be about progression," Monroe added. "I hope to adopt a motto of 'Whatever It Takes' and really focus in on attitude and effort. Eventually, I believe that we can compete for and win an America East title. But that attitude and effort must begin right now."
