Indiana head women’s basketball coach Curt Miller announced the addition of Curtis Loyd to his coaching staff as associate head coach. Loyd brings with him 17 years of collegiate coaching experience and spent the last four seasons at the University of Minnesota. Loyd and Miller worked previously together on the same staff as assistants at Colorado State University during the 1998-99 season.

“We are excited that Curtis has accepted our offer to join our program,” Miller said.  “I conducted a national search looking for a coach that could spark our program and help us continue to build our foundation.  We had tremendous interest as I spoke to numerous candidates but I kept coming back to Curtis as the right fit for our team.  Curtis brings great power conference experience to the Hoosiers including the last four years in the Big Ten.  We also spent a fantastic season together at Colorado State in 1998-99 where we finished ranked seventh in the country.  Curtis has a great reputation for developing players and will work directly with our young post game.  Curtis is also a veteran recruiter that will help open doors outside of the Big Ten footprint including his international connections.  Overall, Curtis is a tremendous addition to our staff and I look forward to the Hoosier Nation welcoming him to our family.”

With the addition of Loyd, Miller’s IU women’s basketball staff, that also includes assistants Brandi Poole and Kevin Eckert, combines for 49 years of Division I coaching experience.

“I am so blessed and honored to be joining the Hoosier Nation and Indiana University,” Loyd said. “The tradition of the University’s academics and it’s ties to athletics goes a long way into making Bloomington one of the nation’s top college sports towns. I’m excited to work with Curt Miller and eager to get involved with him and the staff right away. They have already set a winning tone and I hope to be able add to that and build on the already strong tradition at IU.”

Loyd was elevated to associate head coach at Minnesota for each of the last two years after serving as assistant coach in his first two seasons in Minneapolis.  He oversaw the Gopher defense during his tenure and in 2013-14, Minnesota led the Big Ten, ranked 32nd nationally and set a school record for field goal defense (.369).  The Gophers ranked second in the conference in  scoring defense (63.5).

Minnesota finished the 2013-14 season with a 22-13 record and played into the third round of the WNIT.  The Gophers won 18 or more games in each of his last three seasons with the program while making postseason appearances in each of those years.

Loyd was instrumental at Minnesota in the recruitment of the Big Ten’s leading scorer last season and two-time first team all-conference player Rachel Banham as well as 2014 Big Ten Freshman of the Year Amanda Zahui B.

Prior to his time at Minnesota, Loyd spent one season as associate head coach at the University of Akron in 2009-10, crossing paths with Miller that year in Mid-American Conference matchups with Bowling Green State University when Miller was the head coach there.  That year the Zips posted an 18-14 record, a seven-win improvement for the program from prior year to his arrival in Akron.

Before the stop in Akron, Loyd was an assistant at the University of Virginia for five years.  During his time there, the Caveliers posted a record of 107-57 (.652).  Virginia made national postseason tournament appearance in each of his five seasons, including three NCAA appearances in 2005, 2008 and 2009.  He helped mentor current WNBA Minnesota Lynx player Monica Wright while at Virginia.

Loyd spent five seasons as an assistant at the University of Arizona prior to his stint in Charlottesville.  He oversaw the posts at Arizona and coached five All-Pac-10 frontcourt players, including two-time first team all-conference selection Elizabeth Pickney and the 2003 Pac-10 Freshman of the Year and two-time all-league player Shawntinice Polk.

During the 1997-98 and 1998-99 seasons, Loyd was an assistant at Colorado State University.  During his first year there, he helped the Rams to an NCAA Tournament berth and a 24-6 record.  In his second year at CSU working alongside Miller, the Rams played into the Sweet Sixteen of the 1999 NCAA Tournament and finished the season with a 33-3 record.  Colorado State ended the year ranked No. 7 nationally.  He and Miller helped mentor All-American and Naismith Trophy winner Becky Hammon, who has had an illustrious WNBA career and is a current member of the San Antonio Silver Stars.

Prior to his stop at Colorado State, Loyd was an assistant coach at Fort Collins (Colorado) High School.  That followed a three-year stint as a professional basketball player in Switzerland.

Loyd played college basketball for two years at Northeastern Junior College (1990-91) and transferred to finish his eligibility at Southern Utah (1992-93) for two years.  At Northeastern, Loyd earned National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) All-America and All-Region Nine honors both seasons. He was named Region Nine Most Valuable Player in 1991 after averaging 22 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game.  At Southern Utah during his senior season, Loyd earned a starting spot and averaged 11.1 points and 3.3 rebounds per game.  He also ran track for one season at Southern Utah.

Loyd earned degrees in physical education and sociology at Southern Utah in 1994.  He received an associate’s degree in physical education from Northeastern in 1991.

Jimmy Colloton, who served as interim assistant coach for Indiana in 2013-14, will assume his former role as video coordinator.