| 4/7/2010 12:00:00 AM
PITTSBURG, Kan. (PSU Media Relations) --
Calling the position a "dream job", Kevin Muff spoke to Pittsburg
State University supporters and regional media members after being
formally introduced as the school's new head basketball coach
Wednesday at the Wilkinson Alumni Center.
Muff, who officially accepted the position Monday, April 5,
becomes the 14th all-time head coach of the Pitt State program. He
takes over for former head coach Gene Iba, who retired after 15
seasons with a 261-172 record leading the Gorillas.
"It is with great pleasure that I accept this position as new
head men's basketball coach at Pittsburg State University," Muff
said. "It's something that I've always dreamed that I would see
myself doing some day, to coach at a four-year institution with the
kind of class, quality that Pittsburg State has. I am back at a
place I wanted to be.
"This day I am very humbled," Muff continued. "I am very
excited, very nervous, very anxious to get started. Since I
officially accepted this job on Monday and signed the contract, my
head has been a whirlwind. There are so many things to do ... I am
very pleased, very happy and very blessed to be here."
Muff, 46, a former assistant coach at Pitt State from 1990-93,
returns to campus after serving the past 12 seasons as head coach
at Cloud County Community College in Concordia, Kan., where he has
averaged 21 wins per season over the last five years.
As an assistant coach at Pitt State in the early 1990s, Muff
helped the Gorillas post a 21-8 record during the 1991-92 campaign
– the school's first 20-win season in two decades. That Pitt
State squad rose to a top 10 national ranking and the Gorillas
upset No. 1 ranked Washburn, 72-71, before a school record crowd of
5,000 fans at John Lance Arena on Jan. 18, 1992.
Pitt State narrowly missed the NCAA Division II National
Tournament that year – at the time only four teams in each
region qualified for the postseason and the Gorillas finished the
season ranked fifth in the South Central Region.
Since leaving the Pitt State staff in 1993, Muff watched closely
Iba took over the Pitt State program in July 1995, leading the
Gorillas to an MIAA regular season title and a No. 1 national
ranking in 1999, 40 consecutive home floor victories and five trips
to the NCAA-II National Tournament, including three straight 24-win
seasons from 1997-99, and a Sweet 16 run in 1997.
"I am following in the footsteps of a coaching legend, Coach
(Gene) Iba," Muff said. "I understand that. I am very appreciative
of his help. He's been very supportive. It is with great honor and
pleasure that I am able to take this position and follow someone as
great as him."
While Muff has a keen appreciation for the school's proud past,
he's eager to write new chapters of success for Gorilla basketball
moving forward.
"My expectations ... I want to win championships," Muff said. "I
want our program to be a contender year in, year out with the right
type of kids who do it the right way. We want to put a product on
the floor that people can identify with."
Prior to his assignment at Cloud County Community College, Muff
coached five seasons at Wamego High School, leading the school to a
Kansas Class 4A state runner-up finish in 1998. He was named the
Flint Hills Area Coach of the Year during the 1997-98 season.
He served as the top assistant at Pittsburg State from 1991 to
1993 under former head coach Dennis Hill, after serving as a
graduate assistant for the Gorillas in 1990. Prior to joining the
Pitt State staff, Muff served as an assistant basketball coach at
Atwood High School from 1987-90. He served as a student assistant
coach at Kansas State University under former Wildcats head coach
Lon Kruger during the 1986-87 season.
Muff, a member of the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association, has
served as the president of the Kansas Jayhawk Conference Basketball
Coaches Association from 2004-2009. He has been extremely active in
the community of Concordia, Kan., serving as a volunteer coach for
Concordia Youth Basketball and a volunteer for "Big Brothers/Big
Sisters" of Cloud County. Muff also has served as a lector at Our
Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church.
Muff, a Salina, Kan., native, was a two-year basketball
letterman at Kansas State during the 1984-85 and 1985-86 seasons.
He transferred to K-State after playing two seasons at Cloud County
Community College, where he was a first-team NJCAA All-Region VI
selection as a sophomore in 1983-84. Muff was both a McDonalds and
Converse High School All-America selection as a senior during the
1981-82 season at Salina Central High School.
Muff earned a bachelor's of science degree in education (BSed)
in social science from Kansas State University in 1986 and a
master's of science degree (MS) in physical education from
Pittsburg State University in 1991.
He is married to the former Kim Kidd. The couple has three
daughters: Alex (18), Skyler (16) and Taylor (10).