Scott Edgar (basketball)

Scott Edgar (born December 14, 1955) is an American college basketball coach. A graduate of Penn Hills Senior High School, in Penn Hills Township, Pennsylvania, he is the men's basketball head coach at Eastern Oklahoma State College. He was formerly head coach at Duquesne University, Murray State University and Southeast Missouri State University.

Edgar first coached at New Mexico Military Institute in 1978. Nolan Richardson hired him as one of his first assistants at the University of Tulsa in 1980, his first position in Division I. Edgar followed Richardson to Arkansas in 1985 and continued as Richardson's assistant until getting his first head coaching position at Murray State in 1991. He led the Racers to two NCAA tournament appearances in four seasons.

In 1995, Edgar accepted the head coaching position at Duquesne. He was unable to turn the Duquesne Dukes around, however, and was let go after three seasons. He returned to the assistant coaching ranks, coaching at TCU, UAB and Tennessee. On April 13, 2006, Edgar was named head coach at Southeast Missouri State.^[1] This position brought him back to the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC), where he started with Murray State. Edgar had success in the OVC, with a 65-27 conference record, winning three regular season championships, two tournament championships, and two coach of the year awards, all with Murray State University.

Currently, Southeast Missouri State University has had both its men's and women's basketball programs placed under probation by the NCAA.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association has placed Southeast Missouri State University on two years probation for violations of the NCAA’s rules on recruitment and the transport of a men's basketball student athlete.

In a letter dated October 3, 2008, from the NCAA to Southeast Missouri State University President Kenneth W. Dobbins, the NCAA Notice of Allegations,^[2] alleges the following facts:

- That men's basketball coaches including Head Coach Edgar, observed strength and conditioning workouts regularly during the summers of 2006 and 2007 and watched out-of-season pickup games in the fall of 2006 and spring of 2007, which included a prospective men's basketball student-athlete, participating in a pickup game during an official visit;

- That in October 2006, Coach Edgar directed a third party to drive a men’s basketball student-athlete 171 miles to Memphis, Tennessee, at a value of $23.94, so the athlete could travel to Atlanta Georgia to see his newly born child;

- That in August 2007, Coach Edgar directed an assistant coach to arrange the payment of approximately $239 in institutional fees for a men’s basketball student-athlete to allow the student's enrollment in fall classes;

- That Coach Edgar provided "false and misleading information" during interviews on May 23, 2008 and on August 26, 2008 to University and to the NCAA regarding all of the above NCAA men's basketball program allegations.

Edgar posted a 23-39 record in his two seasons as the Redhawks' head coach.

On October 9, 2008, Edgar was placed on administrative leave by Southeast Missouri State after the basketball program was put on two-years probation.^[3]

Athletic director John Shafer was hired in December 2008. Edgar was also fired in December 2008. The University bought out the balance of Edgar's five-year contract. Dickey Nutt was hired as Southeast Missouri State's basketball head coach, leaving Arkansas State University. He replaces Zac Roman, who had been the acting head coach since Edgar went on administrative leave on October 9, 2008.

Edgar has denied any intentional violation of NCAA rules.

He was named men's basketball head coach at Eastern Oklahoma State College in the spring of 2010.^[4]

References

External links

• Tennessee profile