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Sam Biley – Head Coach

Sam Biley begins his 15th and final year as head coach of the Lady Muleriders, as he will retire from his coaching duties at the end of the 2009-10 season. A native of Moscow, Ark., Biley was the first of 10 children born into a large family where it was Sam’s job to be the role model for the ensuing “Biley Brigade.”

As a youngster, Biley quickly became a playground legend in Pine Bluff and attended small Class B Samuel Vaster High School where he led them to the state title in his senior year. Biley powered Vaster into the overall state tournament final that season, beating a Conway team led by future Arkansas Razorback “triplet” Marvin Delph. Despite Vaster falling short to Little Rock Central in the championship game, Biley was still named the tournament MVP. He was an All-State selection in both 1971-72 and 1972-73.

After being wooed by Louisiana Tech, Arkansas, and local school Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Biley chose Southern Arkansas, then Southern State College, where he played from 1973-77. After playing sparingly as a freshman, Biley was an honorable mention All-Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference (AIC) selection as a sophomore in 1974-75 and went on to earn first-team All-AIC honors as a junior and senior. He averaged 15.1 points and 7.4 rebounds his senior year and was chosen All-National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) District 17 his last two years.

After graduating from SAU, Biley was head basketball coach at Smackover High School for a year and led the Buckaroos to the 1978 state tournament. He returned to Southern Arkansas that fall to complete work on his master’s degree and served as a two-year graduate assistant for the Mulerider basketball team.

Biley then served the next 15 years (1980-1995) as an assistant to SAU men’s head coach Monroe Ingram. He helped lead Southern Arkansas to District 17 championships and berths in the NAIA National Tournament in the 1982-83 and 1988-89 seasons, and to the 1989-1990 AIC championship. As recruiting coordinator, Biley was responsible for bringing in nine all-conference athletes during his tenure. He also brought the second Biley, in what would become a succession of many, to the athletic program in the form of his brother, Michael, who played on the 1982-83 team. His youngest brother, Ken, would go on to be a member of the Arkansas Razorback 1994 national championship team.

In 1995, Biley was named head coach of the Lady Mulerider basketball team. He was voted the Gulf South Conference Coach of the Year in 2003-04, after guiding SAU to a 16-11 record and the GSC Tournament, at the time a career-best and first. In 2004-05, Biley led Southern Arkansas to an 18-11 record and to the semi-finals of the GSC tournament. His 2005-06 team finished 13-15, making the conference tournament for a third consecutive year, and made it four straight the next season when the team went 14-14 and again advanced to the semi-finals of the tournament.

During his tenure with the Lady Muleriders, Biley has coached two All-America and All-Region honorees, and eight players responsible for 14 All-GSC selections, including one player of the year and three freshmen of the year. Off the court, his teams have had 91 selections to the Gulf South Conference Academic Honor Roll, and a third team academic All-American.

Biley and his wife, Rose, have two children, Bryan and Bridgette. Bryan had an outstanding four-year career for the Muleriders, earning 1999-2000 Freshman of the Year and 2002-03 second team All-GSC honors, and Bridgette played with the Lady Muleriders. In addition to his children, Biley had the pleasure to coach his niece, Meah, Michael’s daughter.

Modified: February 9, 2010 at 6:50 pm