 Morrill at San Jose State in 2014 | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 25, 1952 Provo, Utah, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1970–1972 | Ricks JC |
| 1972–1974 | Gonzaga |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1974–1978 | Gonzaga (assistant) |
| 1978–1986 | Montana (assistant) |
| 1986–1991 | Montana |
| 1991–1998 | Colorado State |
| 1998–2015 | Utah State |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 620–294 (.678) |
| Tournaments | 1–9 (NCAA Division I) 0–6 (NIT) 4–1 (CIT) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| |
| Awards | |
| |
Stewart Morrill (born July 25, 1952) is an American college basketball coach and the former head coach of the Utah State University men's basketball team.
Morrill was an All-American at Ricks College and a two-time All-Big Sky selection for Gonzaga University. He started his coaching career in 1974 as an assistant at Gonzaga, and continued at the University of Montana under Mike Montgomery in 1978.[1][2] In the spring of 1986, he was promoted to head coach of the Grizzlies,[2] and led them to an NCAA berth in 1991. Morrill coached at Colorado State University from 1991 to 1998 before resigning to go to Utah State.
Morrill and Utah State gained national attention in March 2001 for their 77–68 upset of Ohio State in overtime in the NCAA tournament.
On January 17, 2008, in an 82–78 victory over Boise State, Morrill logged his 226th Aggie victory, passing E. Lowell Romney to become the winningest coach in Utah State basketball history.
Morrill has a record of 602–281 overall (.682), and 384–143[3] (.729) with Utah State. His 500th win came in January 2010 at Idaho, coached by his former assistant, Don Verlin. He has also racked up an incredible home record of 193–13 (.937) in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum as coach of the Aggies. Following a victory over San Jose State on March 9, 2009, Morrill became the only coach in Utah State history to have back-to-back undefeated seasons at home, extending the streak to 34 straight home wins. He is also the only Utah State coach to win thirty games in one season, a feat he accomplished in the 2008–09 season, and the 2010–11 season. During the 2009–10 season, he became the only Utah State basketball coach to win three straight regular season conference championships. The next year, he won his fourth straight regular season conference championship. Although he has a very impressive regular season record, he did not find success in the NCAA tournament, posting the second worst record, 1–9 (.100) for any coach that has made the NCAA tournament five or more times. He also has a record of 0–6 in the NIT.
With Morrill at the helm, the Aggies were one of only three Division I teams to have won at least 23 games from 1999 to 2011. The other schools are Gonzaga and Kansas. All throughout the 2000s and early 2010s under Morrill, Utah State (.764) had the fourth-best winning percentage in the nation behind Duke (.831), Kansas (.809) and Gonzaga (.799).
On January 9, 2015, USU announced that Morrill would retire at the end of the 2014–2015 season.[4]
- ^ "Short Cuts: Stewart Morrill". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). May 6, 1978. p. 23.
- ^ a b Blanchette, John (May 1, 1986). "Morrill of the story: patience". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. C1.
- ^ "USUStats.com - Coaching Records".
- ^ "Utah St. Coach Morrill to retire at season's end". 9 January 2015.