Lane Lord, a five-time conference and three-time NCAA Regional Coach of the Year who spent the previous 11 years as the head coach at Pittsburg State, was announced as the new head coach of the UTRGV women’s basketball team on May 21, 2018.

2023-24: In his sixth season with the program, guided Jayda Holiman to All-WAC Freshman Team honors after missing the first 10 games of the season averaging 9.1 points per game and finishing third on the team in scoring.
 
Lord saw the Vaqueros finish second in the WAC in attendance with 17,129 and second in average home attendance with 1,224 fans per game. The Vaqueros saw the largest crowd to watch a women’s basketball game in the Rio Grande Valley as a program-record 6,591 fans filed into Bert Ogden Arena to see them play No. 5 Texas.

2022-23: In his fifth season with the program, Lord won more than 10 games for the fourth time in his tenure. Led the team to six wins in the first 10 games of the season with wins over McNeese, Northern Colorado, Corpus Christi, Houston Christian, and Boise State and then closed out the season by winning three of the final four games, including wins against Tarleton State, Sam Houston, and Utah Valley.
 
Lord saw Iyana Dorsey be named to the All-WAC Second Team as she led the WAC last season with three games of 30 or more points scored and set a program record for most free throws made in a single season with 147. 
 
Lord also saw the Vaqueros set a program record with a .730 free throw percentage while finishing the season with 217 made three-pointers, which ranks tied for fourth in program history. 

2021-22: In his fourth season with the Vaqueros, Lord saw the program reach double-figure wins for the third time in four seasons. Two of those wins came against the top two teams in the WAC on the road after knocking off Grand Canyon and stopping Stephen F. Austin’s 32-game conference win streak and 38-game home win streak. 
 
Following the win at SFA, Lord got the Vaqueros rolling into the WAC Tournament where they picked up wins over Seattle U and Abilene Christian. Lord saw Taylor Muff be named to the All-WAC Second Team and the All-Newcomer Team. 
 
Under Coach Lord, the Vaqueros set a program record for most three-pointers made in a season with 245, which ranked fourth in the WAC. The Vaqueros also put together a stretch of 36 three-pointers in the wins over SFA, Seattle U, and Abilene Christian, which marked the most three-pointers made over a three-game span since Dec. 12-19, 2010.

2020-21: In his third season at the helm, Lord guided the Vaqueros through a season like no other while maintain their excellence in the classroom with a team GPA of 3.38 and 13 AD Honor Roll Recipients. 
 
Lord saw Amara Graham become the eighth player in program history to surpass the 1,000 career point mark as she finished the season as the WAC’s leading scorer with 16.5 points per game. 
 
Lord also saw Graham and Sara Bershers earn All-WAC honors as Graham was named to the All-WAC Second Team and Bershers earned All-WAC Honorable Mention. The Vaqueros finished the season second in the WAC with 6.9 three-pointers made per game. 

2019-20: Lord guided the Vaqueros to another double-digit win season in his second year with the program. The 2019-20 season marked the fourth straight season with 10 wins at home, including a win over New Mexico State. 
 
Lord saw Amara Graham and Trelynn Tyler earn All-WAC honors as Graham was named to the All-WAC Second Team while Tyler was named to the WAC All-Newcomer Team. 
 
Under Lord, the Vaqueros set a program record for points scored in a WAC game in an 87-68 win over CBU while finishing the season second in the WAC in steals (8.7) and third in scoring (67.4), assists (14.1), and three-pointers made (7.0).

2018-19: In his first season at the helm, Lord guided UTRGV to an 18-15 record en route to a birth into the Women’s Basketball Invitational (WBI) Tournament. He guided UTRGV to a program record 10 WAC victories as it clinched the No. 2 seed in the WAC Tournament, where UTRGV made the championship game for the third time since joining the WAC.
 
Lord coached Madison Northcutt to a trio of postseason awards as she was named to the All-WAC Second Team, All-Defensive Team, and the All-Newcomer Team. Under Lord, UTRGV finished with the WAC’s best scoring defense by allowing 61.2 points per game. 

Lord compiled a 231-102 (.694) record during his tenure at Pitt State, including five trips to the NCAA Division II National Tournament in the last seven years and the program’s first two Elite Eight appearances. During that time, Pitt State averaged 24.4 wins per season while going 171-50 (.774). Pitt State won 20 or more games seven times in Lord’s 11 years.
 
For his career, Lord has a 467-199 (.701) head coaching record in 24 seasons, including 14 seasons at the collegiate level, during which time he is 326-137 (.704).
 
Lord earned Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) Coach of the Year honors in 2009, 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2017), NCAA Regional Coach of the Year recognition in 2009, 2012 and 2017), and Kansas Basketball Coaches Association Four Year Women's College Coach of the Year honors in 2018.
 
Highlights of Lord’s tenure include the 2016-17 season, when Pitt State went 16-3 mark in MIAA play for the program’s first MIAA regular season title since 1996. During that season, Pitt State climbed as high as No. 5 in the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Division II Top 25 poll.
 
In 2011-12, Lord led Pitt State to the program’s first NCAA Tournament berth since 1998 and an Elite Eight appearance after going a program record 27-6 (.818).
 
Lord came to Pitt State from Barton Community College (BCC), where he led the women’s basketball program to a 77-20 (.794) record from 2004-07.
 
In 2006-07, Lord guided his team to a 27-3 overall record and a share of the Jayhawk Conference West Championship. His squad won 24 of its final 25 games and finished the season on a 12-game winning streak. BCC compiled 15 wins against teams that were either ranked or receiving votes in the NJCAA Top 25 poll.
 
In 2005-06, BCC was ranked as high as No. 8 in the NJCAA national poll.
 
Lord began his coaching career as the head girls’ basketball coach at Wichita Heights High School from 1995-to-2004, during which time he compiled a 141-62 (.695) record.
 
Lord amassed an 89-8 (.918) record and a claimed a pair of Kansas Class 6A state titles during his final four years at the post, earning Kansas Class 6A Coach of Year in both 2002 and 2003. In 2003, he was named the Kansas Girls Coach of the Year for all classes by the National Federation of High School Coaches.
 
Originally from Waco, Lord earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education and special education from Tabor College in 1993. He earned a master’s degree in school leadership from Friends University in 2003.
 
Lord is married to the former Stacy Shobe. The couple have one daughter, Logan. 
 
Year-by-Year Head Coaching Results

		Overall			Conference			Postseason
Year	School	W	L	Pct.	W	L	Pct.
1995-96	Wichita Heights High School	10	11	.476
1996-97	Wichita Heights High School	9	11	.450
1997-98	Wichita Heights High School	10	12	.455				KSHSAA 6A Sub-State Runner-Up
1998-99	Wichita Heights High School	9	12	.429
1999-00	Wichita Heights High School	14	8	.636				KSHSAA 6A Sub-State Runner-Up
2000-01	Wichita Heights High School	24	1	.960				KSHSAA 6A State Tournament Third Place
2001-02	Wichita Heights High School	24	1	.960				KSHSAA 6A State Tournament Champions
2002-03	Wichita Heights High School	21	4	.840				KSHSAA 6A State Tournament Champions
2003-04	Wichita Heights High School	20	2	.909				KSHSAA 6A State Tournament Runner Up
Total	Wichita Heights High School	141	62	.695
2004-05	Barton Community College	22	12	.647				Region VI Runner Up
2005-06	Barton Community College	28	5	.848				Region VI Runner Up
2006-07	Barton Community College	27	3	.900
Total	Barton Community College	77	20	.794
2007-08	Pittsburg State	10	17	.370	4	14	.222
2008-09	Pittsburg State	20	9	.690	14	6	.700
2009-10	Pittsburg State	14	14	.500	12	8	.600
2010-11	Pittsburg State	16	12	.571	13	9	.591
2011-12	Pittsburg State	27	6	.818	17	3	.850	NCAA Division II Elite Eight
2012-13	Pittsburg State	17	10	.630	11	7	.611
2013-14	Pittsburg State	23	8	.742	16	3	.842	NCAA Central Regional Tournament
2014-15	Pittsburg State	27	7	.794	15	4	.789	NCAA Central Regional Tournament
2015-16	Pittsburg State	29	6	.829	18	4	.818	NCAA Division II Elite Eight
2016-17	Pittsburg State	25	6	.806	16	3	.842	MIAA Conference Champions NCAA Central Regional Tournament
2017-18	Pittsburg State	23	7	.767	15	4	.789
Total	Pittsburg State	231	102	.694	151	65	.699
2018-19	UTRGV	18	15	.545	10	6	.625
2019-20	UTRGV	13	17	.433	8	8	.500
2020-21	UTRGV	6	14	.300	2	8	.200
2021-22	UTRGV	14	19	.424	8	10	.444
2022-23	UTRGV	12	18	.400	6	12	.333
Total	UTRGV	63	83	.432	34	44	.436
Total	Collegiate Head Coach	371	205	.644
Total	Head Coach	512	267	.657

 

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING ABOUT LANE LORD

 
Jim Littell, Oklahoma State Women’s Basketball Head Coach
Lane Lord has been a proven winner at every level. His team’s will be well prepared and will play with tremendous effort. Lane’s ability to recruit and work ethic will equate to instant success at UTRGV. 
                                                         
Brandon Schneider, Kansas Women’s Basketball Head Coach
Lane has been highly successful at every stop in his career. He does a terrific job of teaching the game, while also motivating and relating to his players. He’s a perfect fit to build upon the strong foundation coach Larry Tidwell established. 
 
Jory Collins, Kansas Women’s Basketball Assistant Coach
Lane Lord has regularly gotten the most out of his players. They buy into his system and seem to really enjoy playing for him. His teams are championship caliber year in and year out. They are always one of the toughest teams to guard. His players and fans will enjoy the brand of basketball Coach Lord brings to UTRGV.
 
Cindy Stein, Southern Illinois Women’s Basketball Head Coach 
Lane Lord is a great hire for UTRGV. He coaches with tremendous passion and expertise. He is a proven winner and will get the job done with positive energy, leadership and integrity. His team has always played with great effort, suffocating defense and a strong basketball IQ. Lane will be an active member in the community and will be a great asset for the athletic department and University. This is a guy that knows how to do things right and people will enjoy working with him and his very energetic but down to earth personality.
 
Dave Slifer, Central Missouri Women’s Basketball Head Coach
Lane has brought a huge amount of energy to the Pitt State women’s basketball program, which has reflected in many NCAA appearances and two Elite Eight appearances. Lane has taken dribble-drive motion offense to a whole new level. His teams are extremely well prepared and very hard to guard. Players, fans, and coworkers will enjoy the relationships Coach Lord develops. We certainly are going to miss his leadership in our league and definitely some of the competitive battles we have had over the years. Our league lost a star coach today.