Tom Collen
| Sport(s) | Women's Basketball |
|---|---|
| Biographical details | |
| Born |
December 21, 1953 Lancaster, Ohio |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1981–1984 | Miami (Ohio) (Asst.) |
| 1984–1986 | Utah (Asst.) |
| 1986–1993 | Purdue (Asst.) |
| 1993–1997 | Arkansas (Asst.) |
| 1997–2002 | Colorado State |
| 2003–2007 | Louisville |
| 2007–2014 | Arkansas |
Tom Collen (born December 21, 1953) is a former head women's basketball coach who was most recently the head coach at the University of Arkansas.
Collen was born December 21, 1953 in Lancaster, Ohio, and received his bachelor's degree in Physical Education from Bowling Green State University in 1977. He earned a master's degree in Health Education from Miami University (of Ohio) in 1982, and another in 1983 in Recreational Programming.
Collen began his coaching career at Miami University in 1981, where he worked for three seasons. He was assistant coach at the University of Utah from 1984 to 1986, and at the Purdue University from 1986 to 1993.
In 1993, he moved to the University of Arkansas, where he was assistant coach and recruiting coordinator until 1997. He was named assistant head coach for his last two seasons. The year after he left, the Arkansas team went to the Final Four of the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship. Arkansas' women's athletic director Bev Lewis said "his reputation as a recruiter is among the best in the country."
Collen left the University of Arkansas in 1997 to take the head coaching job at Colorado State University. Colorado State went to the NCAA Tournament four times in five seasons under his leadership. In 1999, his team played in the NCAA Sweet Sixteen, and Collen was named coach of the year. His winning percentage of 79.6% (129 wins and 33 losses) ranked fourth among Division I women's basketball coaches at the time.
After the 2001–2002 season, Collen accepted a position at Vanderbilt University but resigned the next day over a discrepancy discovered on his resume. He had listed two master's degrees from Miami University, but Miami had reported only one degree in two subjects. Miami later acknowledged its mistake. By then both Vanderbilt and Colorado State had new head coaches. Collen took a year off from coaching, working as a television commentator and a consultant for the WNBA.
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