Following months of speculation, Slippery Rock University has decided to instate men’s basketball acting head coach Ian Grady as the full-time head coach, according to a statement made by Athletic Communication on Tuesday.
Grady becomes the nineteenth head coach in program history. Grady acknowledged his promotion as an honor.
“It has been a long-term goal of mine to become a head coach somewhere and it feels good to be able to accomplish that,” Grady said. “It’s like any profession you might be in; you just want to work your way up the latter.”
Grady took over as acting head coach on Nov. 2. after then-head coach Kevin Reynolds was placed on administrative leave for reasons not made public by the university. A staff editorial published by The Rocket on Nov. 8 called for the university to move on from Reynolds, citing that the team deserves better leadership.
Grady said his appointment does not change anything.
“We’ve had goals since the start of the season,” Grady explained. “I am not going to change my approach and the team’s mind is set on what they want to accomplish.”
Since Grady has taken over prior to the start of the season, The Rock has compiled an overall record of 16-7 while going 13-3 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC). The Green and White’s record also includes a 12-game winning streak that began on Dec. 8 and ended on Jan. 30. They are currently situated second in the PSAC-West, a game behind school rival Indiana (Pa.) University (21-2/14-2).
A 2009 graduate from Fairmont State University, Grady arrived to The Rock as a graduate assistant; a position he held for two seasons before being named as the assistant head coach under Reynolds before the 2011-2012 season, according to Athletic Communication.
A statement made by Slippery Rock University athletic director Paul Lueken said that a national search to hire a full-time assistant coach to work under Grady will take place in the coming months. Grady has gone all season without a full-time assistant coach under his wing, but has had the services of graduate assistant Aaron Kollar.
The Rock will play their first game with Grady as the full-time head coach on Wednesday against Mercyhurst University (16-4/11-4). Tipoff is slated for 7:30 p.m.
