Men's Basketball
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Email:
- marge.marcy@colorado.edu
Tad Boyle is in his 16th year as the head coach of the University of Colorado men’s basketball program with a record of 312-204 (.605). He is Colorado's all-time leader in men's basketball coaching wins and second in win percentage.
Entering his 20th overall season as a collegiate head coach, Boyle has won 58 percent of his games with a record of 368-270.
Boyle owns 10 of Colorado’s 14 all-time seasons of 20-plus wins, including all six of the Buffaloes’ top single-season win totals. He has guided Colorado to 13 postseason appearances in 14 possible seasons; with no postseason in 2020 due to covid. Included in that span is a school-record seven-straight appearances from 2011 to 2017. Prior to that seven-year run, no Colorado team had participated in the postseason more than two consecutive years.
Six times, Boyle has led the Buffaloes to the NCAA Tournament, and a seventh was surely in the mix had it not been for the cancelation of the 2020 postseason. Boyle’s postseason success is highlighted by a memorable run of four wins in four days to claim the 2012 Pac-12 Tournament championship. He owns more than half of Colorado’s all-time conference tournament wins, with a 23-14 mark in that span (19-11 in the Pac-12, 4-2 in the Big 12). Boyle has led the Buffaloes to three conference tournament championship games and seven semifinals. Overall Boyle's 34 postseason wins and .557 winning percentage (34-27) are tops in Colorado history.
Boyle has led Colorado to 28 wins over ranked opponents, by far the best in team history. In fact, Boyle coached teams, with a record of 28-57 have accounted for 39 percent of the program's wins over ranked opponents (71) since 1949-50.
Colorado has finished with winning records in 13 of his 15 seasons on the bench. The Buffaloes have been above .500 during conference play 10 times, including five of the last seven seasons. Boyle’s 131 Pac-12 regular season are tied for 17th in the conference’s storied history.
Twelve former Buffaloes coached by Boyle have made NBA rosters during his time in Boulder. Ten have been selected in the NBA Draft, including a historic 2024 season that saw three Buffaloes selected in the first two rounds, and two in the first round, for the first time in program history. Cody Williams went No. 10 to Utah, the fourth-highest draft pick in program history. Eight spots later, Tristan da Silva joined the Orlando Magic at No. 18. KJ Simpson was selected by Charlotte in the second round with the 42nd overall pick.
Colorado has had at least one player taken in eight of the last 15 NBA Drafts — including five first-rounders — in Boyle's tenure. The three picks in 2024 were also tied with Kentucky for the second-most from any school. Connecticut led all schools with four.
Twenty-seven former Buffaloes who played in Boyle's program have gone on to professional careers overseas.
The 18th head coach in school history, Boyle has also represented the Buffaloes on a national, and world, stage. Boyle served as head coach of the 2023 USA Basketball Men's U19 World Cup Team and the 2022 FIBA U18 Americas Men's Championship team, winning the Gold Medal in the latter.
Boyle was an assistant coach for USA Basketball's 2017 Men's U19 World Cup Team that earned a bronze medal in Cairo, Egypt. He also earned bronze as an assistant for USA Basketball's 2015 Pan American squad in Toronto. Boyle was one of three court coaches for the 2013 USA Basketball Men’s World University Games training camp at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.
A former chair of the NCAA Men's Basketball Rules Committee, Boyle was appointed to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Board of Directors in June 2022.
Boyle is also an active ambassador in the community throughout the Centennial State. He is a five-time participant in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Infiniti Coaches’ Charity Challenge where coaches across the country compete against each other to raise money for their charities. In 2018, he helped Special Olympics Colorado earn $13,000 through the program.
In September 2012, Boyle was invited to Washington, D.C. with other college basketball coaches to urge Congress to protect federal funding for cancer research and prevention programs on Capitol Hill. In September 2011, Boyle joined 20 other coaches from the Front Range for a two-day coaching seminar with former Denver Nuggets head coach George Karl, the 2012-13 NBA Coach of the Year.
Boyle and his teams have also participated in a multitude of events. The Buffaloes participated in the 2015 Special Olympics Unified Relay Across America in Boulder. He was the official starter of the 34th Annual Bolder Boulder (May 2012), the largest road race in the United States where all participants are timed and the fifth largest road race in the world.
In December 2012, the men’s basketball team visited the Children's Hospital at the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora. In December 2011, the team volunteered with the non-profit Share-A-Gift program, an organization helping families of need acquire children's toys for the holidays. Both programs are part of the CU Athletics Leadership Development Program. The program is designed to develop a culture of leadership in which CU student-athletes act with personal responsibility, integrity and accountability while staying committed in both principle and actions to the greater good.
“This is it (my dream job), there’s no doubt,” Boyle said after being named head coach on April 19, 2010. “I remember talking with (Maryland men’s head coach) Mark Turgeon once when he asked me where I wanted to be in 10 years, and I said, the head coach at the University of Colorado. This is a destination job. I’m humbled and honored.”
In his first season (2010-11), Boyle began to set the standard for exciting things to come, capping the season with a trip to the World’s Most Famous Arena - Madison Square Garden and a National Invitation Tournament semifinal appearance. The Buffaloes won a school-record 24 games, including 18 school-best wins at the CU Events Center, establishing one of the best home court advantages in all of college basketball.
His initial season saw CU rank fifth nationally in free throw percentage (77.8), 12th in scoring (79.6 ppg) and 19th in field goal percentage (47.3).
Boyle earned National Coach of the Week honors (Hoops Report, Jan. 10-16) after leading the Buffs to a 3-0 conference start, including wins over No. 9/8 Missouri and No. 21/20 Kansas State. The win over the Wildcats gave CU its first road win over a nationally ranked opponent since January 1997 (No. 20 Texas Tech). CU defeated four ranked teams, including a 22-point comeback win (second greatest comeback in school history) upsetting No. 5/5 Texas, 91-89.
In year two (2011-12), Boyle became the first CU coach to begin the conference season with back-to-back 3-0 starts, and was the first coach since Frosty Cox (1935-36, 1936-37) to win his conference opener in back-to-back years. He also won his 40th game (home win vs. Oregon) in just 61 games tying Cox (1935-39).
Boyle continued to make most of his “dream job” a reality for CU fans guiding the Buffaloes to the 2011-12 NCAA Tournament (third round), another 24-win season, and a conference championship in its inaugural season of the Pac-12, winning four games in four days at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
For his efforts, Boyle became the first CU head coach to earn the District 20 Coach of the Year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), an award voted among his coaching peers. The 48 wins were a school-best in any two-year span of the program.
“I’m a believer in Tad Boyle,” said Jay Bilas, ESPN College Basketball Analyst. “He is not only a terrific teacher of the game with great basketball knowledge, he keeps it simple and gives his players an understanding of what you need to do to win, but a firm understanding of how teams lose, too. Boyle has tremendous toughness in him. He is demanding without being demeaning, and he puts his players in position to achieve together without fear of failing. That’s what truly outstanding coaches do, and Tad Boyle is a truly outstanding coach.”
In year three (2012-13), Boyle guided the Buffs to another NCAA Tournament appearance, the second year in-a-row, becoming the first CU coach in 50 years to guide the program to back-to-back tournament appearances. CU won 21 games, the third straight season the program eclipsed the 20-win plateau, also a school-first. After the team won their first mid-season tournament since the 2002-03 season, the Charleston Classic, the Buffs reached the nation’s Top-25 polls for the first time since 2005-06 (No. 19 AP/USA Today Coaches’ Poll, Nov. 26); AP No. 23 ranked, Nov. 19).
Attendance records also set a brand new high standard as the men’s basketball team proved to be the best ticket in town setting a number of school records, including seven sellouts; 12 of 15 home games exceeded 10,000 fans or better, in addition to season total (155,884); season average (10,392); conference total (94,371); and conference average (10,486). The attendance surge ranked third nationally among all Division I programs for largest increased average from the previous year.
Success continued for Boyle and his coaching staff in year four (2013-14) as the Buffs won 23 games, the third most victories in school history. Another NCAA Tournament followed for a school record third consecutive season, in addition setting a pair of attendance records (season total: 173,429; non-conference total: 84,133). The staff enjoyed their best start to a season in four years (14-2 record) with a No. 15 nationally ranking, the highest a CU team has seen since 1997.
In 2014-15, a 16-18 record marked the first time in five years the program failed to notch a winning season, however the Buffaloes reached the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) quarterfinals. The Buffs did defeat NCAA Sweet 16 participant UCLA and the National Invitation Tournament Champion Stanford during the season.
Attendance remained steady for the fifth straight year, finishing with third place numbers across the board in all-time marks in season total, season average, and conference total. Conference average was fourth. Overall, Boyle and his CU teams, hold the top five attendance marks in season and conference total, and conference average since 2010-11; and the four of the top five attendance figures in season average.
The Buffaloes rebounded nicely in 2015-16, sporting a record of 22-12 and finishing in fifth place in the Pac-12 at 10-8. Boyle led Colorado to 11 straight wins during the nonconference schedule, the fifth longest in program history and best run since 1961-62. Colorado’s 21 regular season wins tied a school record – joining the 2013-14 and 1996-97 teams – and 22 overall tied for fourth in the school annals. Colorado reached the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time under Boyle.
Boyle's 2016-17 team marked seven-straight years with a postseason tournament appearance; a school record. The Buffaloes were 19-15 overall and 8-10 in the Pac-12, earning a spot in the NIT. Colorado's regular season was highlighted by wins over three ranked teams, including No. 13/14 Xavier and No. 10/10 Oregon, teams that would eventually end up in the Elite Eight and Final Four respectively.
In 2017-18, Boyle had the youngest team of his tenure, with nine players that had not played a minute in a Buffaloes' uniform prior to the season. He led Colorado to 17 wins, the program's seventh winning season in the last eight years. Last year's young group had some bright moments including back-to-back wins over Top 15 teams for the first time in program history.
In 2018-19, Boyle led Colorado to a 23-13 record, tying for fourth place in the Pac-12 (10-8). The 23 wins tied for the third most in team history and just one off the school record. Boyle's teams now own the top four season win totals in team history and five of the top six.
In 2019-20, Boyle guided to Buffaloes to what undoubtedly would have been a fifth NCAA Tournament appearance during his tenure before the cancelation of the postseason due to the coronavirus pandemic. Colorado spent a school-record 13 weeks in the Associated Press Top 25, peaking at No. 16 in mid February. The Buffaloes ended at 21-11 on the season and ranked No. 25 in the final NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) ratings.
The bulk of that team returned in 2020-21, and while navagating the continuing effects of the pandemic, put together one of the best seasons in modern CU history. Colorado was 23-9, finished as the Pac-12 Tournament runner-up and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Buffaloes won a school-record 14 conference games and were ranked in both the final AP and Coaches polls for the first time since 1996-97.
With a young team in 2021-22, Boyle led the Buffaloes to their fourth-straight 20-win season, finishing at 21-12, a fourth place finish in the Pac-12 and an appearance in the Postseason NIT. The 2021-22 campaign capped off a four-year run with 88 wins, second in program history only to his first four-year stretch with 92 wins from 2010-14.
Prior to his arrival to Boulder, Boyle resurrected the basketball program at the University of Northern Colorado, where he guided the Bears to a 56-66 record (.459) the past four seasons, including a breakout season in 2009-10, when the Bears were 25-8 (.758) and finished second in the Big Sky Conference. For his efforts, he was awarded the NABC Division I All-District Coach of the Year, the Big Sky Coach of the Year by both The Sporting News and CollegeInsider.com, where he was also named a finalist for the National Mid-Major Coach of the Year award.
“This exciting process was all about both the young men we have currently and those in the future who will be joining our program, and is an investment in them and represents the competitive spirit, teamwork, passion and dedication they stand for,” then-CU athletic director Mike Bohn said.
“Tad Boyle represents everything that is right about college basketball. We look forward to his leadership, poise and competitive drive to unite all our collective Buff interests to support our team and this enterprise that has so much promise for the long term.”
A Greeley, Colo., native, Boyle was named the 17th coach in UNC history on April 25, 2006. At that point, the Bears were in the midst of a transition to Division I in its first season as a member of the Big Sky Conference. Northern Colorado finished 4-24 in his first season when squad finished last nationally in the final RPI rankings for that season. There were, however, flashes of times to come that season, including close losses to both Colorado (88-86) and Colorado State (75-66).
Over the next two seasons at UNC, he improved the team’s win total from four to 13 and then 14. The Bears defeated Colorado State, 72-59, in his second season and also knocked off San Diego State, 72-59. The Aztecs were ranked among the nation’s top 50 teams in the RPI rankings at that time. In year three, the Bears had improved from one conference win his first season to an even 8-8 mark and earned the school’s first Division I post season trip, to the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.
It all came together for Boyle in his fourth season in Greeley, as the Bears advanced to the post season for the first time in school history, advancing to the quarterfinals of the CollegeInsiders.com Tournament while racking up a school record 25 victories. He coached one first-team All-Big Sky member and also the Big Sky Conference Defensive Player of the Year.
Prior to Northern Colorado, he spent six seasons as an assistant coach at Wichita State and was part of another turn around that saw the Shockers improve from 9-19 (.321) his first year there to one of the nation’s top mid-major teams in 2006 when Wichita State went 26-9 and advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. The Shockers eventually lost to Final Four Cinderella George Mason in the regional semifinals, but not before they had secured the No. 21 ranking in the final collegiate polls.
Boyle played collegiately for legendary coach Larry Brown at Kansas (1981-85). He was a member of two NCAA Tournament teams (1984, 1985) and was part of the 1984 Big Eight Tournament championship squad. As a senior, Boyle captained the Jayhawks, which featured freshman Danny Manning, who three years later led the Jayhawks to the NCAA Championship.
After earning a bachelor of science degree in business administration from Kansas in 1985, Boyle went on to serve six years as a high school basketball coach at various Colorado programs. He was the sophomore basketball coach at Greeley (Colo.) West for a year and then was an assistant coach at Loveland (Colo.) High School for two years.
From there, he served at Longmont (Colo.) High School for three years before returning to the college ranks.
It was at Kansas that Boyle played alongside Turgeon, whom he also coached with at Oregon under Jerry Green. Boyle’s first collegiate coaching job in 1994 was on Green’s Ducks staff, where he spent three seasons and helped the Ducks to the 1995 NCAA Tournament and the 1997 National Invitational Tournament. In 1997, Boyle followed Green to Tennessee, where he was director of basketball operations when the Vols won 20 games and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
Boyle reconnected with Turgeon the following year, this time as an assistant coach at Jacksonville State (Ala.), where they helped turn a team that was 8-18 into a 17-11 squad in just one season.
Before heading to play collegiately at Kansas, Boyle was a standout performer at Greeley Central High School, where he led the Wildcats to a state championship as a senior in 1981 and earned Colorado Player of the Year honors as well as being selected to the Converse All-American team. His high school jersey was retired at the conclusion of his senior season.
Boyle is married to the former Ann Schell of Greeley, and they have two sons, Jack and Pete, and a daughter, Claire.
