-by UATV Sports’ Tyler Woessner (photo courtesy of ArkansasRazorbacks.com)
Former Arkansas Razorback basketball player and ESPN college basketball analyst Jimmy Dykes was named the eighth head women’s basketball coach at the University of Arkansas, it was announced by Athletic Director Jeff Long Sunday morning. Long released a statement about his hire of Dykes, which reads in part:
“After meeting with him and discussing our program, it was clear to me that Jimmy Dykes is not only the best leader for our women’s basketball program, but also the best Coach for the student-athletes in our program,” Long said. “I have known Jimmy for many years but learned of his passion and commitment to his alma mater, the University of Arkansas, when I arrived on campus. I have always respected his tremendous basketball knowledge and his understanding of the game, but as I got to know Jimmy better, l became aware of his strong coaching background including his tenures at some of the nation’s top college basketball programs. Jimmy’s coaching pedigree working with some of the best coaches in the business, combined with his ability to teach the game of basketball, made him the clear choice as the head women’s basketball coach at the University of Arkansas.”
Dykes played for legendary head coach Eddie Sutton at Arkansas and he coached under Sutton at Arkansas, Kentucky and Oklahoma State. Dykes’ experience includes more than 950 games called and more than 3,000 practices observed at all levels of college and professional basketball. Between coaching and broadcasting, Dykes worked for two years as a scout for the NBA’s Seattle SuperSonics (now the Oklahoma City Thunder).
Dykes has lived in Arkansas during his time with ESPN. He’s also known for being the Athletic Director at Shiloh Christian High School in Springdale, where he started the Saints’ football dynasty by hiring current Auburn head football coach Gus Malzahn.
Dykes met his wife Tiffany while he was playing basketball at Arkansas and she was a cheerleader for the Razorbacks. They have one daughter, Kennedy. He takes over for former head coach Tom Collen, who was fired March 7th after seven seasons as the head coach of the Razorbacks.
Follow @UATVSports on Twitter for live tweets of quotes from Dykes and Long at Dykes’ introductory press conference today at 6:30 p.m.