SPRINGFIELD -- After leading the Missouri State Lady Bears to their best finish in four years in 2009-10, head women's basketball coach Nyla Milleson has been rewarded with a two-year contract extension. The Missouri State University Board of Governors Friday (April 9) approved the extension to the third-year head coach's employment agreement, which will now run through the 2014-15 season.
Milleson's salary under the terms of the deal will be $141,380 per year. She will also receive guarantees of $30,000 each for her television and radio shows, as well as regular University benefits and a number of additional achievement payments and benefits. The actions were approved by the Board during its executive session Friday. According to the Missouri Open Meetings and Records Law (known as the Sunshine Law), public governmental bodies have 72 hours in which to announce personnel decisions taken in executive session.
Milleson signed a five-year agreement upon being named head coach of the Lady Bears in April 2007, and received a one-year extension following the completion of the 2007-08 season. With Friday's addendum, Milleson will have five years remaining on her contract, which will officially run through June 30, 2015.
"I am encouraged by the progress our women's basketball program has made and the leadership Coach Milleson has provided," Missouri State Director of Athletics Kyle Moats said. "This extension confirms my confidence that she and her staff have the Lady Bears moving in the right direction."
Behind an offense that ranked 13th nationally in scoring, Milleson guided the Lady Bears to a 22-11 overall record and the school's first post-season appearance in four years this season. The Goodland, Kan., native led MSU to a third-place Missouri Valley Conference regular-season finish before notching wins over Oral Roberts and Samford in the Women's National Invitation Tournament. The Lady Bears were one of just 17 Division I schools to post a double-digit increase in total victories and their 12-win improvement from a 10-20 campaign in 2008-09 represented the seventh-best turnaround in the nation.
As a team the Lady Bears were one of the top shooting clubs in the country in 2009-10, finishing among the top 40 Division I schools in field goal percentage, free throw percentage and three-point field goal percentage.
On an individual level, six different players have been named to all-conference teams during Milleson's tenure, including 2009-10 MVC Player of the Year and WBCA All-Region 6 performer Casey Garrison. Missouri State's recruiting efforts under Milleson have produced four MVC All-Freshman Team selections, including back-to-back Freshman of the Year honorees in Garrison and Christiana Shorter.
"This is home," Milleson stated, "and Lady Bear Basketball is where my passion lies. We knew that building this program back to where we felt like it should be was going to be a challenging process, but certainly a tremendous opportunity as well. We have a staff and a group of young ladies who have bought into our program and what it means to be a Lady Bear, so we're very excited about what lies ahead."
