When Todd Thurman was named the head coach of the Southwestern Oklahoma State University in 2005, he took the reigns of the men’s basketball program and quickly established itself as a championship-caliber squad.

It was certainly no surprise to basketball followers. He did the same at his previous school, Wayland Baptist University. He changed attitudes, got players to believe, and recruited basketball-savvy athletes. The results were overwhelmingly positive first at Wayland and the same is now working at SWOSU.

SWOSU won its first 10 games under Thurman and climbed to into the Division II Top 25 Rankings. The Bulldogs ended the year at 17-10 and qualified for the 2006 Lone Star Conference Postseason Tournament.

A native of Yukon, Thurman led Wayland to a 131-82 (.615) record which included four trips (2002, 2003, 2004, 2006) to the NAIA National Tournament.

Prior to arriving at Wayland in 1999, Thurman had played on or helped coach seven teams from three other schools to either NAIA or NCAA Division II postseason appearances. He worked as an assistant coach for nine seasons at his alma mater Southern Nazarene University, where the Crimson Storm made regular postseason appearances in both the Sooner Athletic Conference and NAIA. He also served as an assistant at the University of Central Oklahoma and also at Oklahoma Christian University in the early 1990’s.

His coaching experience also includes a stint as a bench coach for the 2004 USA Basketball Men’s National Team Trials in East Rutherford, N.J. While there he worked with the nation’s top 20-and-under basketball players in preparation for international competition. Gonzaga’s Adam Morrison, the 2006 Collegiate Player-of-the-Year and Chris Paul, star guard for the NBA’s New Orleans Hornets were members of that team.

Thurman had an illustrious playing career and went on to play several years professionally in England, Argentina and the Philippines during the mid 1980’s. An all-stater at Yukon High School, Thurman led the Millers to the 1979 state title and went on to earn all-American honors at nearby Bethany Nazarene. He led Bethany (now Southern Nazarene University) to its first NAIA title by scoring 39 points in the 1981 championship against Alabama-Huntsville.

Thurman holds dual degrees in Business Administration and education from SNU. He also earned a master's degree in higher education from Central Oklahoma.

Thurman and his wife, Lynne, have two teenage boys: Nick, and Alex.

todd.thurman@swosu.edu
(580) 774-3701