Twitter: @ShieldsUALR

In 11 years as head coach at UALR, Steve Shields has led the Trojans to six championships and one NCAA Tournament appearance, all while becoming the winningest coach in school history. Entering his 12th year as head coach, Shields will have an experienced roster to build off a 2013-14 season that saw the Trojans reach the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt Tournament.

Shields’ 2013-14 team averaged 71.5 points per game on the season, the second-highest number by a UALR team during the Shields era, and featured three players (Hagins, Neighbour, White) that averaged double figures in scoring. UALR also set new program records for blocked shots (125) and free throw shooting percentage (73.7 percent) in 2013-14. Senior Will Neighbour earned Second Team All-Sun Belt and Second Team NABC All-District honors after averaging 16.3 points and 7.0 rebounds in an injury-plagued season. Neighbour is the only player in program history to earn All-SBC honors in three straight seasons.

The 2004 Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year, Shields guided the Trojans to consecutive East Division championships in his first two seasons as head coach (2003-04 and 2004-05). The Trojans captured back-to-back division titles for the second time under Shields in 2007-08 and 2008-09, with both squads reaching 20 wins – something that hadn’t been done at UALR since the 1988-89 and 1989-90 campaigns. The 2008-09 Trojans went 23-8 with a school-record 15-3 mark in conference play, led by First Team All-SBC selection Shane Edwards and Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year John Fowler.

In the 2012-13 season, Shields guided one of the least-experienced teams in the nation to a 17-15 overall record and an 11-9 mark in Sun Belt play. In terms of minutes played by class, just 12 teams finished the year with a less-experienced group of players comprising the bulk of their minutes. With just one senior and two juniors on the roster, nine of UALR’s top 11 players (in terms of minutes played) were freshmen and sophomores. Despite their youth, the Trojans managed to go 13-3 on the season at home, tying the 2007-08 Trojans for the most home victories in a single season since the Jack Stephens Center opened in 2005. Junior Will Neighbour earned All-Sun Belt honors (Third Team) for the second straight season.
Shields captured his fifth division championship in 2011-12, as the Trojans rebounded from a 3-11 record in non-conference play to win the West Division with a 12-4 Sun Belt mark. Tasked with replacing the top three scorers off the 2011 NCAA Tournament team, UALR struggled early on but showed its potential in a game against No. 2 Kentucky on Jan. 3, 2012. The undersized Trojans took a 30-27 lead into the intermission against a Kentucky squad which went on to win the national championship. UALR entered the conference season without a road win to its credit, but opened league play with road victories at North Texas and Denver en route to the program’s first 5-0 Sun Belt start. UALR ended the year with a 12-4 mark in league play, including a 6-2 road record, led by All-Sun Belt selections D’Andre Williams (1st) and Will Neighbour (2nd).

Shields will enter the 2014-15 season with an overall record of 179-160 in 11 seasons at UALR (.528 winning percentage). He spent four years as the head coach at McLennan Community College prior to coming to UALR as an assistant coach for the 2000-01 season, and sports a lifetime coaching record of 255-211 (.547 winning pct.) across all divisions.
During his 11 seasons at the helm, Shields has coached the Sun Belt Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Freshman of the Year, two Male Student-Athletes of the Year and the league’s Male Sporting Behavior recipient. Eleven of his players have received All-Sun Belt Conference honors, along with six NABC All-District selections, one USBWA All-Region honoree, and one Associated Press All-American.

In 2006-07, Rashad Jones-Jennings garnered First Team All-Sun Belt and NABC All-District accolades after becoming just the second player in Sun Belt history to lead the nation in rebounding average (13.1 per game). He was named All-Tournament at the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, a showcase for NBA scouts featuring the top seniors in the nation, and went on to earn a spot on the Philadelphia 76ers’ NBA Summer League team.
Shane Edwards, a 2009 First Team All-Sun Belt selection, followed up a successful rookie season in the NBA D-League with an invitation to play for the Denver Nuggets in the NBA Summer League. Edwards averaged 12.7 points and 5.3 rebounds per game as a rookie with the New Mexico Thunderbirds and ranked second in the NBA D-League by shooting 62.5 percent from the floor. He averaged 10.8 points per game for the Nuggets during the NBA Summer League and was rewarded with an invitation to the Nuggets’ training camp.

Edwards returned to the NBA D-League for the 2010-11 season and averaged 16.7 points and 6.8 rebounds over 45 games. He was named to the NBA D-League Western Conference All-Star Team and received Gatorade All D-League Honorable Mention accolades at season’s end. Edwards had a tryout the following summer with the San Antonio Spurs and the Chicago Bulls, but elected to sign with Tezenis Verona of the Italy Lega2 due to the pending NBA lockout.
In March 2014, Edwards was signed to a 10-day contract by the Cleveland Cavaliers after averaging 13.3 points and 5.5 rebounds on 54.7 percent shooting for the NBDL’s Canton Charge.

Television exposure has been on the rise under Shields, with UALR playing in 58 televised contests over the past 11 years. The Trojans played in seven televised contests during the 2008-09 season, with ESPN visiting the Jack Stephens Center for the fifth time in the first four years of the arena’s existence. UALR played in a pair of nationally televised games during the 2009-10 season, as the Trojans squared off against Tulsa as part of ESPN’s 24-hour College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon, and faced South Alabama on ESPN2. UALR made seven television appearances during the 2010-11 season, including three nationally televised games – two on ESPN2 and its NCAA Tournament game against UNC Asheville on truTV. UALR followed up its 2011 NCAA Tournament appearance with seven more televised contests in 2011-12, including a nationally televised game against Middle Tennessee on ESPN2. UALR made five television appearances in 2012-13, including the Sun Belt Network’s visit to the Jack Stephens Center to televise UALR’s matchup with FIU. The Trojans played in seven televised games during the 2013-14 season, including three Sun Belt Network games.

Shields’ impact at UALR goes beyond the basketball court, as his emphasis on academics has allowed UALR to graduate 100 percent of the players who have exhausted their eligibility under his watch (34 of 34). A study conducted by The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports (TIDES) at the University of Central Florida, ranked the men’s basketball program in the top-10 for Graduation Success Rate among 2011 NCAA Tournament Teams along with Notre Dame, Villanova, Illinois, BYU, Xavier, Vanderbilt, Utah State, Belmont and Wofford. Outside of the classroom, he keeps his players involved in the community through bi-monthly visits to the Arkansas Children’s Hospital, working with the Arkansas Special Olympics and the Miracle League, and participating in the Trojans for Education program, among other activities.
Shields came to UALR prior to the 2000-01 season from McLennan Community College and spent three seasons as the top assistant and recruiting coordinator under head coach Porter Moser. After three consecutive 18-win seasons, Shields took over as head coach when Moser left for Illinois State.

As a rookie head coach in 2003-04, Shields inherited a team which did not return a single starter from the previous year’s squad and led the Trojans to a 17-12 mark and his first division championship – earning Sun Belt Coach of the Year honors in the process. UALR went 9-5 in league play to finish a game up on WKU and Middle Tennessee, and followed up its East Division Championship by advancing to the semifinals of the Sun Belt Tournament. His 2004 Sun Belt Coach of the Year award made him the first coach so honored in his first year leading a Division I program.

The 2004-05 season saw Shields guide the Trojans to an 18-10 mark and his second division title, while ending the year with the second-best RPI ranking in school history (64). The Trojans rallied from a 4-4 start to conference play to win their final six Sun Belt games and secure their second-straight East Division title. That year’s team swept Sun Belt-opponent Western Kentucky for the first time since the 1997-98 season, and scored a significant non-conference win over Southern Illinois on Dec. 7, 2004. SIU went on to earn a No. 7 seed in the 2005 NCAA Tournament and advanced to the second round.
UALR’s success in 2004-05 translated into more television coverage, as the Trojans made a school-record eight TV appearances, including playing in the ESPN Bracket Buster event against Bowling Green. The 2003-04 and 2004-05 season marked the final two years at Alltel Arena, where the Trojans enjoyed a remarkable 25-3 record in Shields’ first two years as head coach (.893 winning percentage).

UALR was hit hard by graduation following its second East Division title, losing seven seniors and all five starters off a team which went 10-4 in league play. Despite the team’s relative inexperience, the Trojans got off to an 11-7 start, including a 4-2 conference mark. UALR closed out the regular season with a 13-14 record, but pulled things together in the opening round of the Sun Belt Tournament to down North Texas, 72-55, before falling to eventual champion South Alabama in the next round.
The Trojans played in five televised games that year, including contests against No. 11 Illinois and No. 13 Michigan State, with the Spartans pulling out a narrow 72-67 victory in Grand Rapids, Mich. The games against the Illini and MSU marked the second-straight year UALR faced two Final Four teams from the previous season’s NCAA Tournament, having squared off against 2004 Final Four teams Oklahoma State and Georgia Tech during the 2004-05 season.

Without a single player on the roster with more than one year of Division I experience, the 2006-07 season was marred by inconsistency. UALR showed its potential with an 81-79 win over MAC frontrunner Akron, which went 26-7 on the year, and a 67-66 win at Minnesota, but failed to build on its momentum. The Trojans ended the season with a 13-17 record (8-10 in league play) after falling to New Orleans in the conference tournament.

Despite being picked to finish sixth in the west division in the Sun Belt’s preseason poll, the 2007-08 Trojans jumped out to a 9-1 start on the way to the program’s first 20-win season since the 1995-96 campaign. UALR, which ended the year with a 20-11 overall record, won its last four games of the regular season to finish with an 11-7 conference record and tie Louisiana-Lafayette for a share of the West Division championship.

The Trojans entered the Sun Belt Tournament as the No. 2 seed and advanced to the semifinals for the first time since 2004 with a 66-60 win over Florida Atlantic. UALR’s season came to an end in the semis at the hands of eventual Sun Belt champion, and NCAA Sweet 16 participant, Western Kentucky. UALR’s defense-first mentality resulted in the 2007-08 Trojans ending the year ranked third nationally in defensive three-point field goal percentage (29.0 percent).

The 2008-09 Trojans won the west for the second-straight season by going a perfect 11-0 against West Division teams on the way to a school-record 15-3 conference mark. Led by First Team All-SBC selection Shane Edwards and Defensive Player of the Year John Fowler, the 2008-09 Trojans were one of just 18 teams in the nation to win 12-or-more games away from home (away and neutral contests) – a list which included North Carolina, Michigan State, Oklahoma and Memphis.
UALR was one of just seven teams in the country with 11 or more true road wins (games on an opponent’s home floor) that season and ended the year with the highest RPI rating in the state of Arkansas (No. 93). UALR advanced to the semifinals of the Sun Belt Tournament for the second-straight year after downing Denver, 58-55, in quarterfinal action, and ended the year with the program’s highest win total (23) since the Derek Fisher-led 1995-96 squad.

The loss of four starters off UALR’s 23-8 team, combined with a challenging non-conference schedule (ranked the 14th toughest in the nation), proved tough to handle in 2009-10. UALR went 8-22 on the year, with five of its losses decided by five points-or-less.

The Trojans took a different route to make history in 2010-11, winning four games over higher-seeded teams in four days to capture the program’s first-ever SBC Tournament title after ending the regular season with a sub-.500 record. UALR dropped three-straight games to close out the 2010-11 regular season and entered the SBC Tournament with a 15-16 overall record, but the Trojans prevailed at Summit Arena behind a dominant defensive performance. In UALR’s four victories at the SBC Tournament, the Trojans held opposing teams to a combined .389 fielding goal percentage and 59.8 points per game, with a +5.0 turnover margin after averaging just 9.5 turnovers per game.

In the Sun Belt Championship game, SBC Player of the Year Solomon Bozeman hit a 3-pointer with 1.5 seconds remaining to lift the Trojans to a 64-63 victory over North Texas and give UALR its fourth NCAA Tournament appearance – ending the program’s 21-year drought. Bozeman was named the Most Outstanding Player at the SBC Tournament, making him the first Sun Belt men’s basketball player to receive both awards in the same season since WKU’s Chris Marcus in 2001.
Bozeman averaged 22.0 points per game during the SBC Tournament and made 44 of 50 free throws en route to earning Most Outstanding Player honors. The senior guard went on to receive All-America Honorable Mention accolades from the Associated Press, while also receiving All-District VII honors from the United States Basketball Writers Association and First Team All-District 24 accolades from the NABC. He was also given the Sun Belt’s Male Student-Athlete of the Year award at the league’s summer meetings, making him the second Trojan to receive the honor under Shields.

Making the school’s first NCAA Tournament appearance in 21 years, the Trojans headed to Dayton, Ohio, to take on UNC Asheville in the first round. The Trojans led UNC Asheville for the entire second half until Matt Dickey delivered a three pointer with 10.5 seconds left in regulation to tie things up, and the Bulldogs prevailed in overtime, 81-77, after two of UALR’s starters fouled out.

Prior to taking over as head coach of the Trojans, Shields spent three years as the top assistant and recruiting coordinator under head coach Porter Moser for a UALR program which won 18 games in three-consecutive seasons. Shields was one of the keys in sparking the biggest turnaround in Sun Belt Conference history, taking a UALR team that won just four games the previous year and leading it to an 18-11 record in the 2000-01 season. The Trojans followed that with another 18-11 season, despite losing four seniors and the top three scorers from the previous year, and an 18-12 mark in the 2002-03 season.

Shields came to UALR after a four-year stint as head coach at McLennan Community College in Waco, Texas. At MCC, Shields led the Highlanders to a regional championship in 1997-98 and their first national tournament appearance in 22 years. He was voted the Texas Junior College Coach of the Year by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches following the 1997-98 season and received Region V Coach of the Year honors as well.

During Shields’ first year as head coach at McLennan, the Highlanders were co-champions of the North Texas Junior College Athletic Conference. Previously, Shields had been an assistant at McLennan for three seasons and helped lead the Highlanders to a combined 80-13 record. MCC was twice ranked in the top 10 nationally and finished the 1992-93 regular season ranked as the No. 2 team in the country.

Before making the move to collegiate athletics, Shields was the athletic director and head football and basketball coach at his alma mater, Reicher Catholic High School in Waco. His football team claimed a district title after winning just one game the previous season, and Shields led his basketball team to a 23-8 record after the squad won just two games the previous year.

Shields was also a collegiate athlete, beginning at Oklahoma City University, where he sat out his freshman year as a redshirt before transferring to McLennan and playing basketball for a year. He then transferred to Baylor University where he played golf for his father, longtime Baylor coach Gene Shields, and earned All-Southwest Conference honors in 1987.
Shields, born March 9, 1965, earned his bachelor’s of science in education in 1988 and a master’s in education in 1992, both at Baylor. He has one son, Hayden Dieterich Shields (13), and one daughter, Halle Elisabeth Shields (nine). He and his wife, Kenda, were married on May 24, 2012. Kenda is the Director of Marketing and Promotion with the North Little Rock Chamber of Commerce. She is the mother of two children, Hayden Jennings Ford (15) and Madison Leigh Ford (18).