March 22, 2006
Pocatello, ID --- Joe O'Brien, one of only three coaches to ever win three Junior College National Championships, has been named as the new head men's basketball coach at Idaho State University by Director of Athletics Paul A. Bubb. The announcement was made at a press conference in the Little Wood River Room of the Pond Student Union Building on Wednesday morning, and it makes O'Brien the 20th head coach as the program heads towards it's 80th season next year.
"I would like to thank the members of the search committee as well as the others, both from the campus and the community, who took part in the interview process," said Director of Athletics Paul A. Bubb. "I feel each candidate received a very thorough and diverse day on campus and I was able to receive input from a number of individuals and groups which helped me in this process."
Members of the search committee, which represented faculty, staff, students, alumni, former student-athletes and the community, included Scott Benson (Faculty Athletic Representative), Mike Calley (President, Bengal Foundation & former Student-Athlete) , Leonard `Buddy' Frazier (Affirmative Action Director & former Student-Athlete), Dr. M. R. Mickelson (former Team Surgeon), Mike Standley (Director of Compliance for ISU Athletics), Josh Thompson (ASISU Senator & former Student-Athlete), and James `Byrd' Yizar (Assistant Dean of Students & former Student-Athlete).
Added Bubb, "As I and members of the search committee visited with references we constantly heard about how hard of a worker Coach O'Brien was, how committed he was to the academic success of his players, and his ability to out-coach teams that often were more talented. Many have described him as being one of the best-prepared floor coaches they have ever seen."
A veteran of 21 seasons of collegiate basketball, including 13 as the head coach of a pair of NJCAA institutions, O'Brien brings a tremendous background to Idaho State. One of the JC ranks' most successful coaches, O'Brien owns a career head coaching mark of 313-117, a .728 winning percentage.
He earned his first collegiate head coaching job at Lincoln College in Lincoln, Illinois, where he led the Lynx to four straight 20-win seasons, including a 25-6 mark in 1993-94. While at Lincoln, O'Brien amassed a 100-53 record over his five seasons, before taking over at Southeastern Community College in 1996, where he led the BlackHawks to unprecendented success. During his eight seasons at SCC, O'Brien had eight winning seasons, including four 20-win seasons, and three other 30-win seasons.
In 1999-2000, the BlackHawks went 34-4 in winning their first NJCAA national championship. The following two seasons saw the BlackHawks go 25-8 and 25-10 with a Region XI Championship. In 2002-03 and 2003-04, the BlackHawks won back-to-back national titles, going 37-1 in 02-03, and 32-4 in 03-04. In his eight seasons with SCC, the BlackHawks went 213-64. With his third title, O'Brien joined Ronnie Arrow and Allen Bradfield as the only coaches with three national titles at that level. Overall, O'Brien is one of only 11 people to have three national titles either at the JC or the NCAA level.
O'Brien, 51, got his start in coaching at the collegiate level in 1982-83, when he spent the first of two seasons at Southeastern Louisiana University. He then served as an assistant coach at Central Missouri State for five years, helping CMS to three 20-win seasons and two NCAA Tournament appearances before moving on to Lincoln College. O'Brien spent the 2004-05 season as an assistant at Florida International, helping the Golden Panthers to go from 13-43 over the previous two seasons to a 13-17 mark, FIU's best record in the previous six seasons.
"I believe that Coach O'Brien brings a wealth of college coaching success with him to Idaho State University. While the winning record, national championships and personal coaching honors are all part of Coach O'Brien's success, his demonstrated ability to recruit successful student-athletes completes the package. Coach O'Brien has recruited and coached high school student-athletes who have played and graduated from college and gone on to compete at Division I programs like Iowa, UConn, Washington, Florida State, Eastern Washington, Wisconsin-Green Bay and many others."
O'Brien has earned six national Coach of the Year honors, two each in 2000, 2003, and 2004, plus three District XI Coach of the Year honors. Joe has also spent time in the prep ranks as an assistant coach at Jonesboro-Hodge and Natchitoches High Schools in Louisiana, and as the head coach at Episcopal High School for one season, 1981-82. O'Brien was a four-year letterman at Monmouth College in Illinois, where he served as a captain as a senior, and helped Monmouth make the NCAA tournament as a freshman. He graduated in 1977 from Monmouth with a B.A. in Physical Education/Biology, and he earned his Master's from Northwestern State in Health, Physical Education, and Recreation.
"I am excited to have Coach O'Brien, his wife Amy and their three children as the newest members of the Bengal family at Idaho State University," said Bubb.
The O'Brien File
Head Coach
Southeast (Iowa) Community College -- 213-64 (Eight Seasons)
Lincoln (Ill.) College -- 100-53 (Five Season)
Assistant Coach
Central Missouri State University -- 104-42 (Five Season)
Southeastern Louisiana University -- 29-26 (Two Seasons)
Coaching Honors
2000 GTE/National Association of Basketball Coaches -- Junior College Coach of the Year
2003 National Association of Basketball Coaches -- Junior College Coach of the Year
2004 National Association of Basketball Coaches -- Junior College Coach of the Year
2000 NJCAA Basketball Coaches Association Division I Coach of the Year
2003 NJCAA Basketball Coaches Association Division I Coach of the Year
2004 NJCAA Basketball Coaches Association Division I Coach of the Year
2000 NJCAA District XI Coach of the Year
2003 NJCAA District XI Coach of the Year
2004 NJCAA District XI Coach of the Year
"Coach of the Tournament" 2000 NJCAA Division I National Championship
"Coach of the Tournament" 2003 NJCAA Division I National Championship
"Coach of the Tournament" 2004 NJCAA Division I National Championship
NCAA/NJCAA Coaches with Three or More National Championships
Division I
John Wooden - 10
Adolph Rupp - 4
Mike Krzyzewski - 3
Bob Knight - 3
Division II
Arad McCutchan - 5
Pat Douglass - 3
Division III
Bo Ryan - 4
Dan McCarrell - 3
NJCAA
Joe O'Brien - 3
Ronnie Arrow - 3
Allen Bradfield - 3
