91传媒

Life Lessons on and off The Court.

Ryan Looney鈥檚, 鈥�98, skill at building teams has proven successful鈥攁nd those successes culminated into an opportunity to be the head coach of an NCAA Division 1 basketball team. There were a lot of stops along the road to the Division 1 job, but that was never the plan.

鈥淓ach time we moved, there was an opportunity that presented itself,鈥� he said.

The first opportunity was a graduate assistant coaching position at University of Wisconsin, La Crosse, where he earned a master鈥檚 degree in athletic administration. When he graduated, he was asked to follow his boss to Minnesota State, Morehead, to be the full-time assistant coach. It wasn鈥檛 long before he was back in La Grade as head coach at his alma mater.

At 27, Looney wasn鈥檛 far removed from being a player on 91传媒鈥檚 basketball team.

鈥淏eing a head coach and running my own program where I played was a dream come true,鈥� Looney said.

He said he learned quickly that hard work and passion pay off. His first year with the team, 2004, the Mountaineers didn鈥檛 have a lot of wins, but the team鈥檚 breakout season of 2005-06, produced the best record since 1969. 

During the 2006-07 season the Mountaineers finished with an overall record of 23-8, advanced to the finals of the 2007 Cascade Collegiate Conference Tournament, and were ranked as high as No. 17 in the NAIA national poll. 

In 2007-08 the Mountaineers finished with an overall record of 26-6, won the school鈥檚 first conference championship in 38 years, advanced to the NAIA National Tournament for the first time in school history, and were ranked as high as third in the NAIA national poll. That year, Looney was recognized as the Men鈥檚 Basketball Coach of the Year. 

During the 2008-09 season, the team finished with an overall record of 25-8, won the Cascade Collegiate Conference Championship, advanced to the Elite Eight of the NAIA National Basketball Tournament, and were ranked as high as No. 6 in the NAIA national poll.

He then spent seven years at Seattle Pacific, an NCAA Division II school. Looney led the Falcons to a 22-6 record in 2009-10 and became the school鈥檚 first coach to earn a conference championship spot in their inaugural season. The Falcons compiled a 20-10 record in 2010-11 en route to an NCAA Division II Tournament. In 2011-12 the team reached the Sweet 16 of the Division II Tournament. During the 2012-13 season the Falcons finished with the best overall record in program history at 27-4, won the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Tournament Championship, reached as high as second in the NABC national poll, and advanced to the NCAA II West Region Final. 

During the 2013-14 season the Falcons finished with an overall record of 26-6, won the Championship, won the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Tournament Championship, reached as high as second in the NABC national poll, and advanced to the NCAA II Tournament. Looney was recognized as the 2014 GNAC Coach of the Year and the 2014 NABC West Region Coach of the Year.

Looney and his family then headed south to Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego where the wins kept coming. Looney spent three seasons at Point Loma, leading the team to its first Division II National Championship game. The Sea Lions won their first regular season conference title in 2019. In three years, Looney finished with a 69-28 record.

His continued success caught the attention of Idaho State University, a Division I program and a job Looney said he couldn鈥檛 turn down. Unfortunately, his first few seasons have been constantly interrupted by the COVID-19 virus.

鈥淢y first season COVID hit,鈥� Looney said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been an interesting time. Everything about coaching basketball is totally different.鈥�

For 15 months he wasn鈥檛 allowed to leave campus to recruit or to bring students to Idaho State for a visit.

鈥淚t can be difficult to build a program until we start to resume some sort of normalcy,鈥� Looney said.

The success has been up and down, Looney said. The 2020-21 was the best season the school had in 30 years, but this year they are struggling with injuries, COVID infections and quarantines.

Luckily, things are loosening up. Looney said this past fall his staff was allowed to start in-person visits with potential recruits, most he brings in from the Pacific Northwest, but he鈥檚 had experience with players from Spain, Denmark and countries in Africa.

鈥淭he foreign students add a different dynamic,鈥� Looney said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 fun for those guys to come to college in America and learn a different culture, as it is for the Americans to learn about where those guys come from as well.鈥�

Coaching college ball requires early mornings, late nights and a lot of time on the road, but Looney said there are plenty of rewards and benefits鈥攍ike when a former player yells his name from the stands at a game.

鈥淚t鈥檚 about the relationships built that go well beyond playing the game,鈥� Looney said. 鈥淭he most 

satisfying things are when a former player sends a wedding invitation or an email about a promotion, or a note that a baby is coming鈥攖hose things bring a smile to my face.鈥�