As anticipated, University of Arkansas' women's athletic director Bev Lewis introduced Tom Collen as the new head coach of the Lady Razorbacks' women's basketball team in a press conference on Friday, March 23. Collen, who leaves his position as head coach at the University of Louisville, replaces Susie Gardner, who stepped down March 2, one day after the Lady 'Backs were defeated in the first round of the 2007 SEC Tournament. Gardner, a talented coach who came to Arkansas after having led Austin Peay State University to an impressive rise in the OVC, was never able to duplicate that success at Arkansas. In her four years at the helm, Gardner had an overall record of 64-54, but was well below .500 in SEC league play, going 16-40 during her tenure. The 2006-2007 season was an especially tumultuous one for Gardner and her team, as it was bookended by record-setting streaks. The Lady Razorbacks opened the season with a school best 15-1 record, but then ended their season on a 10 game losing streak, also a school record.

For Collen, his hiring as head coach of the Lady Razorbacks marks a return to a school he is very familiar with, since he served as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator under head coach Gary Blair from 1993 to 1997. Although Collen had moved on to his first head coaching position at Colorado State in 1998, it was Collen's recruits who took Arkansas to their only trip to the Final Four so far, led by point guard Christy Smith. Collen is regarded by many as one of the finest recruiters in the women's game, and at Arkansas under Blair his final two recruiting classes were ranked in the top 20, with the 1996 class achieving the highest ranking in school history at fifth. Besides Smith, other top Collen recruits at Arkansas included Parade All-Americans Tennille Adams, 1998 NCAA West Regional MVP Sytia Messer and the second all-time three-point shooter in SEC history Wendi Willits. The Lady Razorbacks posted two post-season appearances during his four years as assistant coach.

The 53-year-old Collen spent 14 years in the assistant coaching ranks at Utah, Purdue and Arkansas. In that 14 years, 10 of his recruiting classes ranked in the top 20 in the nation. His stints as head coach have been just as successful. During his five years at Colorado State, he turned the Rams into immediate winners, going 24-6 and advancing to the NCAA second round in his first season as head coach. His second season at CSU was even more impressive, highlighted by a 33-3 record, a trip to the Sweet Sixteen and National Coach of the Year honors. His overall record at Colorado State was 129-33, with five post-season appearances in five years, four of them in the NCAA tournament.

Collen was all set to join the SEC as a head coach back in 2002 when he was hired as Jim Foster's successor at Vanderbilt. But that stint lasted all of one day when a Nashville newspaper discovered a discrepancy between the resume Collen submitted to Vandy and the one submitted to Colorado State regarding his master's degree coursework at Miami University of Ohio. Collen stepped away before he ever assumed the reigns at Vandy when athletic director Todd Turner rescinded Vanderbilt's offer to him. By that time, Colorado State had already named his replacement, so Collen took a year off from coaching. During that time, he was vindicated when it was discovered that the registrar's office at Miami University had made the mistake in his student records and that Collen had done nothing improper.

In 2003, Tom Jurich, who had given Collen his first head coaching position at Colorado State, hired him to be the new head coach at the University of Louisville. Collen stepped in at Louisville and produced the same type of results he produced at CSU. Three of his four squads posted 20-win seasons along with 3 consecutive appearances in the NCAA tournament. Collen's 2006-2007 Louisville team cracked the Top 25 for the first time in school history and advanced to the second round of the NCAAs. Collen said, "One of the toughest decisions for me was to leave Louisville in the midst of the building process with the job unfinished. It was especially difficult to leave (UL athletic director) Tom Jurich. He gave me my first head coaching opportunity at Colorado State, and he brought me to Louisville as well. I am forever indebted to him for that because that is what led me back to Fayetteville today."

Bev Lewis, in announcing Collen as the new head coach, stated, "Among the things I looked at were recruiting, postseason appearances, rank of recruiting classes, top 25 rankings, and attendance – Tom had it all. He is a strong evaluator of talent through his recruiting, and as a head coach he’s a proven developer of that talent." Collen says he has always felt that the University of Arkansas had the potential to perform at the national level, and his goal is to return the Lady Razorbacks to league and national prominence. Look for Collen to focus on a pressing defensive style and solid outside shooting. He is also committed to keeping solid talent in-state and to rebuilding the fan base.

Collen is married to the former Nikki Taggart, an outstanding guard at Purdue who later transferred to Marquette. She later held assistant coaching positions at Colorado State and at Ball State. She and Tom are the proud parents of 2-year-old twins Reese and Connor and are expecting their third child later this spring.