UTRGV Athletics hired Larry Tidwell, who had been the head coach at Lamar for the previous six seasons, as the head coach of the women’s basketball team on April 4, 2013.
Tidwell is the program’s all-time leader in wins (85), winning percentage (.531), conference winning percentage (.528), conference wins (38), conference tournament wins (4), conference tournament winning percentage (.444), home wins (51), home winning percentage (.739), road wins (22), road winning percentage (.310), neutral site wins (11), neutral site winning percentage (.579), conference home wins (22), conference road wins (16), conference road winning percentage (.457), non-conference winning percentage (.534), and non-conference home winning percentage (.882). He is just the fourth head coach to be the winningest head coach at two NCAA Division I institutions, along with Texas A&M’s Gary Blair (Texas A&M and Arkansas), Air Force’s Chris Gobrecht (Washington and Yale) and retired Jane Albright (Northern Illinois and Wisconsin). Tidwell is also second in program history in non-conference wins (47), non-conference home wins (30), and conference home winning percentage (.611),
In his five years at UTRGV, Tidwell’s teams have broken 117 program records and tied 83 others.
2017-18: Won 500
thgame as a head coach (211 at the collegiate level and 289 at the high school level) on Feb. 15 vs. Seattle U … Won his 200
thgame as a collegiate head coach on Nov. 10 vs. Concordia … Led team to 10 program records, including highest shooting percentage in a WAC game (.500, 1/27 vs. Chicago State), most fourth quarter points in a WAC game (27, 1/13 vs. Grand Canyon), and fewest games to clinch a winning record in non-conference play (10) … Also led the team to best starting through nine (7-2), 10 (8-2), 11 (9-2), 12 (9-3), 13 (9-4), 14 (10-4) and 15 (10-5) games in program history … Coached Quynne Huggins to WAC All-Newcomer Team recognition.
2016-17: In his fourth season with the program, led team to third-straight postseason appearance, getting a bid to the WBI and hosting the program’s first-ever postseason home game in the first round, a 62-54 victory over Stephen F. Austin, the team with the highest RPI (89) in the field. It was the postseason victory in program history … The season ended in the WBI Quarterfinals … Led team to third-straight winning season by going 19-14, good for a program record-tying .576 winning percentage … UTRGV broke 23 different program records, including wins in a three-year span (57), longest in-season winning streak (7), most wins entering the conference tournament (18) and blocked shots (144). UTRGV also had the best start from 15 games (9-6) through 18 games (12-6) and 22 games (14-8) through 29 games (18-11), as well as the best home record through 10 (9-1), 11 games (10-1) and 16 games (12-4) … UTRGV tied 21 other program records, including wins (19) for the third-straight year, home wins (12) and wins in a two-year span (38) … Tidwell coached Shawnte’ Goff to her third-straight All-WAC First Team honor and her second-straight All-Defensive Team honor … Guided team through program’s first Preseason WNIT appearance.
2015-16: In his third season with the program, led team to first-ever WNIT bid and put team in position to host second round WNIT game, which would have marked the first postseason home game for any athletic program at UTRGV at the NCAA Division I level and the first in 50 years … UTRGV finished 19-14, marking the highest winning percentage (.576) in program history and tying the record for most wins … In total, UTRGV broke 31 different program records and tied 24 more. The broken records include RPI (180), highest conference tournament seed (2), road wins (8), road winning percentage (.471), conference road wins (5), wins in a two-year span (38), wins in a three-year span (52), free throw shooting (.723), rebounds per game (41.51), total rebounds (1,370), and total blocks (121) … UTRGV got off to the best 16-game start in program history (9-7) and continued that trend through game (13-9), again on game 24 (14-10), and then again from games 29 (17-12) through 31 (19-12) … UTRGV also had the best conference record from three (3-0) through six games (5-1), and the best road record from 13 (6-7) through 16 games (8-8) … Other program records that UTRGV tied this include conference wins (9), conference tournament wins (2), neutral site wins (3), longest in-season winning streak (5), and three-pointers attempted (747) … UTRGV tied for the best record through nine games (6-3), 14 (8-6) and 15 games (8-7), 23 games (13-10), 25 (14-11) through 28 games (16-12), and 32 (19-13) and 33 games (19-14) … UTRGV also tied for the best conference record through seven (5-2), nine (6-3), 13 (8-5) and 14 games (9-5), and the best home record from five (5-0) through eight games (7-1) … The team approached six other records, ranking second in field goal percentage defense (.371), field goal attempts (2,088) and free throws made (408), third in scoring (2,077), field goals made (730) and free throws made (408), fifth in scoring defense (61.6), and sixth in free throw attempts (564) … Tidwell had two players earn All-WAC honors, including Shawnte’ Goff (WAC Player of the Year, All-WAC First Team and All-Defensive Team) and Anushka Maldonado (All-Newcomer Team) … Led team to WAC Tournament Championship Game for second year in a row by beating CSU Bakersfield in double overtime and grabbing a WAC Tournament record-tying 60 rebounds (3/11) … Coached team to first ever win over Houston, 55-45 on the road (12/20) … Set up aggressive schedule early, as UTRGV was the second team in the nation to play 11 games, doing so during the first 25 games of the season (12/7) … One of just four coaches in the nation to use same starting lineup in each of first 11 games.
2014-15: In second season with the program, led team to first winning season in 30 years at the NCAA Division I level and first since 1982-83 (10-5 as an NAIA Division II program), first postseason appearance (seventh seed in the West Bracket of the Women’s Basketball Invitational) and first conference tournament championship game … Tidwell’s squad broke 31 different program records, including lowest RPI (188), most wins (19) conference wins (nine), conference tournament wins (two), home wins (12), neutral site wins (three), conference road wins (four), games played (34) and wins in a two year span (33) … Team got off to the best 19-game start in program history (11-8) and had the best record in program history from game 23 (13-10) through game 34 (19-15) … Team tied 19 program records, including a strength of scheduled that ranked 196
th in the NCAA … Team ranked eighth in the NCAA in turnover margin (+6.09), 24
th in offensive rebounding (16.0), 62
nd in steals per game (9.4) and 83
rd in fewest turnovers per game (14.5) … Had four players earn All-WAC honors, including Shawnte’ Goff (First Team), Brittany Bush (Second Team), Tonisha Walker (All-Defensive Team) and Hildur Björg Kjartansdóttir (All-Newcomer Team) … Led NCAA with 11 games, four of which were against ranked teams, in first 23 days of season, going 6-5, including wins over WNIT participant Eastern Michigan and WBI top-seed New Mexico, as well as a near upset of No. 5 Texas A&M.
2013-14: In first season with the program, tied program records for wins in a season (14) and conference wins in a season (eight) … Led team to a final RPI of 249, the lowest in program history … Recorded 9-3 record at home, tying for the second most home wins in program history … Tied for best starts through 10, 11, 19, 20, 21, 24 and 28 games in program history … Directed defensive unit that allowed just 65.8 points per game, the ninth lowest mark in program history … Coached Shawnte’ Goff to WAC Freshman of the Year and All-Newcomer Team honors and Brittany Bush to WAC All-Defensive Team honors … Down 25 (42-17) with 2:56 remaining in the first half of a game at Houston Baptist (12/3), coached team to the biggest comeback in program history, coming back from the third largest deficit in NCAA history while tying for the fourth largest overall comeback, and recording the second largest regulation comeback and third largest road comeback in NCAA history as well as the largest comeback in five years, by beating the Huskies 76-74 … Led team to first WAC win in first WAC game, 60-58 over Grand Canyon (1/2) … Coached team to number four seed in WAC Tournament.
Career: When Tidwell started at Lamar in 2007-08, he took over a team that hadn’t had a winning record since 1994-95 and recorded a winning record every year, including four seasons of 20 or more wins and five seasons of 19 or more wins. He has reached double-figures in conference wins five times, always finishing at least .500.
Tidwell led the Cardinals to a 26-8 record (13-3 Southland), the second-highest win total in program history, and the 2010 NCAA Tournament after winning the Southland Conference Co-Championship and the Southland Conference Tournament Championship, en route to earning Texas Association of Basketball Coaches Coach of the Year honors. In 2012-13, Tidwell led the Cardinals to a 22-11 record (12-6 Southland) and a spot in the WBI (Women’s Basketball Invitational) Quarterfinals.
Tidwell has proven his ability both on and off the court, earning a chance to be Lamar’s director of athletics in 2010-11. Tidwell had a successful year as an administrator, with an emphasis on the student-athlete, on the fields and courts and in the classroom, while also leading the women’s basketball team to a 25-8 record (13-3 Southland) and a spot in the WNIT. Tidwell stepped down from the post at the end of the season so he could focus on coaching, but remained executive assistant to the athletic director in 2011-12 before becoming a special assistant to the President in 2012-13.
Tidwell was the winningest head coach in Lamar history, going 128-66 (.660) overall, including a 66-32 (.673) record in conference play. That’s an average record of 21-11, including 11-5 in conference play.
He has shown off his recruiting prowess time and again, as two of his recuriting classes have been ranked in the top 10. He's also had six in the top 20 and 12 in the top 50. In total, Tidwell has had 21 recruiting classes in the top 100 in the nation. He is credited with helping sign, develop and coach 40 student-athletes who have gone on to play professionally, including WNBA players
Sandora Irvin (Phoenix/San Antonio/Chicago),
Natasha Lacy (Detroit/Tulsa/Los Angeles),
Adrianne Ross (San Antonio) and
Danielle Crockrum (San Antonio/Utah), and 2008 Olympian
Tamara Abalde.
Additionally, in nine years as an NCAA Division I head coach, Tidwell is 61-for-61 in graduating student-athletes and assistants who have completed their eligibility with Tidwell. In 40 years of coaching, Tidwell has had over 100 former players and student assistants enter the teaching and coaching professions.
Prior to joining Lamar, Tidwell spent eight years as the associate head coach and recruiting coordinator at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth. The Horned Frogs made the NCAA Tournament in each of his final seven seasons, including five trips to the second round. They also won the 2001 Western Athletic Conference Tournament Championship and the 2003 and 2005 Conference USA Tournament Championships.
In 2001-02, the Horned Frogs went 24-7 (12-2 CUSA) and earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, going two rounds deep. For his part in the success of the season, Tidwell earned AFLAC National Assistant Coach of the Year honors.
The Horned Frogs won 20 or more games six times and 19 or more games seven times while Tidwell was the associate head coach and recruiting coordinator, amassing an overall record of 173-83 (.676), including 83-35 (.703) in conference play. That’s an average record of 22-10, including 10-4 in conference play.
Tidwell began his coaching career at the high school level in Texas, leading Frisco High School from 1976-77 and 1981-83, and Schulenburg High School from 1984-92. After spending six years as an assistant coach at Baylor, Tidwell returned to high school for one year, as the head coach and athletic director at Mexia High School. In 12 seasons at Texas high schools, Tidwell made 10 playoff appearances, earneed nine district coach of the year awards, and posted an overall record of 289-83 (.777).
Tidwell also served on the board of directors of the Texas Girls Coaches Association (TGCA) and the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches (TABC). He coached in the 1991 TGCA All-Star game and was selected to do so again in 1999, but had to withdraw after returning to collegiate coaching at TCU. Tidwell was the recipient of the TGCA's prestigious Margaret McKown Distinguished Service Award for his then 32 years of service to the organization in 2008. He also has worked as assistant director of the TABC summer camps for girls and was named "Teacher of the Year" on two occasions. He was honored as Schulenburg's "Citizen of the Year" in 1991. Tidwell continues to be active in both TGCA and TABC, serving as a college consultant for both organizations and helping them to attract college coaches as speakers for their nationally recognized coaching clinics. Tidwell has spoken at each organization's clinics four times.
While at Baylor, Tidwell helped to lay the seeds of a turnaround for the program by bringing in two top 25 recruiting classes as the Bears broke the .500 mark in 1996-97 for the first time since 1983-84, going 15-13. The Bears then went 20-11 in 1997-98.
Tidwell is a well-known figure in women's basketball throughout the entire country and abroad. His international roots run deep as he has visited 38 different countries and has coached and signed players from Australia, New Zealand, Spain, Latvia, Trinidad, Sweden, Slovakia, Belgium, France, Iceland, Jamaica, Serbia, Peru, Nigeria, Poland, Denmark, Ukraine, Mexico, Romania, Slovakia, Turkey, Greece, Canada, Brazil and Lebanon. Tidwell enjoys sharing his basketball knowledge and has done numerous coaching clinics throughout Texas, with clinics overseas in Iceland, Scotland, Trinidad and Tobago, Nigeria, Latvia, Lithuania, the Bahamas, Kenya, Peru and Australia.
In 2011, Tidwell served as the head coach of the national women's basketball team of the Bahamas, guiding them to a fifth-place finish at the Caribbean Basketball Championships.
In 2014, Tidwell was honored by Austin College with the Joe Spencer Award for Career Achievement in coaching and teaching. This is the highest award that Austin College bestows upon its alumni. Tidwell has been honored three times by the Austin College Athletic Department and is the only person in the 165-year history of the institution to earn that much recognition.
During the 1971-1972 academic year, Tidwell played football and basketball at TCU before transferring to Austin College, where he earned three letters in football, three in baseball and two in track & field. He earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in 1975 and 1976, respectively. In July 2004, he was inducted into the Austin College Hall of Fame, and the year before that, he earned a place in the Sanger High School Hall of Fame. In July 2010, Tidwell was honored with the distinguished Kedric Couch - Austin College Alumni - Coach of the Year Award.
Married to the former Teresa Ann Davis of Sanger, a retired special-needs teacher in the Crowley Independent School District, the couple has three sons, Marc, Marty and Michael. They have two daughter in-laws, Kristin and Michele, two granddaughters, Ryan and Skylar, and three grandsons, Matthew, William, and Waylon. Michael, the Girls Athletic Coordinator and Head Cross Country Coach at Denton High School, and Marty, who coaches at Frisco Wakeland High School, have followed their dad into the coaching profession and have proven to be outstanding teachers and coaches, Marc is a very successful businessman in Houston with Bates Footwear.
Tidwell also has eight "adopted sons," Jeremy Pevehouse (a highly regarded businessman with Dickie's apparel), Darryl Vrazel (assistant principal at Collins Middle School School), Dave Mishler (assistant girls basketball coach and teacher at Paschal High School), Sean McShane (former college basketball coach and now a successful businessman), Dr. Chad Hammett (practices at Beaumont Internal Medicine), Thomas Bilde (former basketball club coach and now an internationally known sports broadcaster in Denmark), Blake Ivy (successful businessman with Republic National Distributing Company) and Yannick Denson (basketball coach at Legacy Christian Academy).
Year-by-Year Overall Results
| Year |
School |
Position |
Wins |
Loss |
Winning % |
| 1976-77, 81-83 |
Frisco High School |
Head Coach |
|
|
|
| 1984-92 |
Schulenburg High School |
Head Coach |
|
|
|
| 1992-93 |
Baylor |
Assistant Coach |
12 |
16 |
.429 |
| 1993-94 |
Baylor |
Assistant Coach |
13 |
14 |
.481 |
| 1994-95 |
Baylor |
Assistant Coach |
13 |
14 |
.481 |
| 1995-96 |
Baylor |
Assistant Coach |
11 |
19 |
.367 |
| 1996-97 |
Baylor |
Assistant Coach |
15 |
13 |
.536 |
| 1997-98 |
Baylor |
Assistant Coach |
20 |
11 |
.645 |
| 1998-99 |
Mexia High School |
Head Coach/Girls Athletic Director |
|
|
|
| 1999-00 |
TCU |
Associate Head Coach/Recruiting Coordinator |
16 |
14 |
.533 |
| 2000-01 |
TCU |
Associate Head Coach/Recruiting Coordinator |
25 |
8 |
.758 |
| 2001-02 |
TCU |
Associate Head Coach/Recruiting Coordinator |
24 |
7 |
.774 |
| 2002-03 |
TCU |
Associate Head Coach/Recruiting Coordinator |
20 |
14 |
.588 |
| 2003-04 |
TCU |
Associate Head Coach/Recruiting Coordinator |
25 |
7 |
.781 |
| 2004-05 |
TCU |
Associate Head Coach/Recruiting Coordinator |
23 |
10 |
.697 |
| 2005-06 |
TCU |
Associate Head Coach/Recruiting Coordinator |
19 |
12 |
.613 |
| 2006-07 |
TCU |
Associate Head Coach/Recruiting Coordinator |
21 |
11 |
.656 |
| 2007-08 |
Lamar |
Head Coach |
19 |
13 |
.594 |
| 2008-09 |
Lamar |
Head Coach |
20 |
11 |
.645 |
| 2009-10 |
Lamar |
Head Coach |
26 |
8 |
.765 |
| 2010-11 |
Lamar |
Head Coach/Director of Athletics |
25 |
8 |
.758 |
| 2011-12 |
Lamar |
Head Coach/Executive Assistant to the Athletic Director |
16 |
15 |
.516 |
| 2012-13 |
Lamar |
Head Coach/Special Assistant to the President |
22 |
11 |
.667 |
| 2013-14 |
UTPA |
Head Coach |
14 |
16 |
.467 |
| 2014-15 |
UTPA |
Head Coach |
19 |
15 |
.559 |
| 2015-16 |
UTRGV |
Head Coach |
19 |
14 |
.576 |
| 2016-17 |
UTRGV |
Head Coach |
19 |
14 |
.576 |
| 2017-18 |
UTRGV |
Head Coach |
14 |
16 |
.467 |
| As a High School Head Coach |
12 Seasons |
289 |
83 |
.777 |
| As an Assistant Coach |
Six Seasons |
84 |
87 |
.491 |
| As an Associate Head Coach |
Eight Seasons |
173 |
83 |
.676 |
| As a Collegiate Head Coach |
11 Seasons |
213 |
141 |
.602 |
| As a Head Coach |
23 Seasons |
502 |
224 |
.691 |
| Collegiate Total |
25 Seasons |
470 |
312 |
.601 |
| Overall Total (1,123 Games) |
36 Seasons |
759 |
394 |
.658 |
Year-by-Year Head Coaching Conference Results
| Year |
School |
Position |
Wins |
Losses |
Winning % |
| 2007-08 |
Lamar |
Head Coach |
10 |
6 |
.625 |
| 2008-09 |
Lamar |
Head Coach |
10 |
6 |
.625 |
| 2009-10 |
Lamar |
Head Coach |
13 |
3 |
.813 |
| 2010-11 |
Lamar |
Head Coach/Director of Athletics |
13 |
3 |
.813 |
| 2011-12 |
Lamar |
Head Coach/Executive Assistant to the Athletic Director |
8 |
8 |
.500 |
| 2012-13 |
Lamar |
Head Coach/Special Assistant to the President |
12 |
6 |
.667 |
| 2013-14 |
UTPA |
Head Coach |
8 |
8 |
.500 |
| 2014-15 |
UTPA |
Head Coach |
9 |
5 |
.643 |
| 2015-16 |
UTRGV |
Head Coach |
9 |
5 |
.643 |
| 2016-17 |
UTRGV |
Head Coach |
8 |
6 |
.571 |
| 2017-18 |
UTRGV |
Head Coach |
4 |
10 |
.286 |
| Total |
11 Seasons |
104 |
66 |
.612 |
Highlights
| Year |
School |
Highlights |
| 2000-01 |
TCU |
Western Athletic Conference Tournament Champion ... NCAA Tournament Second Round |
| 2001-02 |
TCU |
NCAA Tournament Second Round … AFLAC National Assistant Coach of the Year |
| 2002-03 |
TCU |
Conference USA Tournament Champion ... NCAA Tournament Second Round |
| 2003-04 |
TCU |
NCAA Tournament Second Round |
| 2004-05 |
TCU |
Conference USA Tournament Champion … NCAA Tournament First Round |
| 2005-06 |
TCU |
NCAA Tournament Second Round |
| 2006-07 |
TCU |
NCAA Tournament First Round |
| 2009-10 |
Lamar |
Southland Conference Co-Champion … Southland Conference Tournament Champion … NCAA Tournament |
|
|
Texas Association of Basketball Coaches Coach of the Year |
| 2010-11 |
Lamar |
WNIT First Round |
| 2012-13 |
Lamar |
WBI Quarterfinals |
| 2014-15 |
UTPA |
WBI First Round (First Postseason Appearance in Program History) … Texas Association of Basketball Coaches Coach of the Year |
| 2015-16 |
UTRGV |
WNIT First Round |
| 2016-17 |
UTRGV |
WBI Quarterfinals (First Postseason Victory in Program History … First Home Postseason Game in Program History) … Preseason WNIT |
