RICHMOND, Ky. – Newly-appointed men’s basketball coach Jeff Neubauer has rounded out his staff, hiring Ted Hotaling, Mark Byington, and David Boyden as assistant coaches for the 2005-06 campaign.
“It was very important to me to hire people I had worked with before, or who had worked for some of my good friends in the coaching business, because I knew they would be a good fit for us. I have hired a very classy, professional and dedicated group of assistants who work very efficiently. They will be outstanding representatives for the basketball program and Eastern Kentucky University,” said Neubauer.
Hotaling comes to EKU from Yale, where he has served as a full-time assistant to head coach James Jones for four seasons. He spent a year at New Haven in 2000-01 as a full time assistant after spending the previous year as a volunteer assistant at Yale. He also spent a year as an assistant at Adelphi.
Hotaling played college basketball at Albany, and helped lead the Great Danes to an Elite Eight appearance in the NCAA Division III tournament in 1994. During his senior year of 1994-95, Hotaling served as the team’s captain and once again boosted the team into the second round of the Division III tournament.
Hotaling went on to play professionally in Europe for the Cardiff Phoenix Basketball Club in Cardiff, Wales, and the Plymouth Rotolok Raiders in Plymouth, England.
Hotaling earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Albany in 1995, and went on to garner a master’s degree in sports management and administration from Adelphi.
“I got a slam dunk with Ted,” Neubauer said. “He has been the recruiting coordinator at Yale for four years. Recruiting student-athletes at Yale meant not being bound by any one territory when you’re out looking for players, so he can go all over the country to find talented players to bring to Eastern Kentucky.”
Boyden, who played at Western Kentucky, returns to the Bluegrass after spending two seasons on the staff at Georgia.
He served as an administrative assistant during his first season before ascending to director of basketball operations. His primary duties included the oversight of the school’s basketball camp as well as assisting in the preparation of practice schedules and producing recruiting materials.
Boyden was a four-year starter for the Hilltoppers and was tabbed All-Sun Belt on two occasions. He completed his career with 1,125 points and ranked 25th on the all-time scoring list at WKU. During his career, Western won three Sun Belt championships and made three consecutive appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
A two-time choice for the Sun Belt All-Tournament team, Boyden was tabbed the Player of the Year in the Sun Belt by CollegeInsider.com in 2002. He was also a two-time selection for the prestigious E.A. Diddle Award for Leadership during his playing career.
He graduated with a degree in recreational management in 2003, making appearances on the Dean’s List for two straight years before moving on into the coaching profession.
Neubauer said, “David has a great personality and he’s just an outstanding young man. He’s also a winner. He played in the NCAA tournament three straight years and played in the state of Kentucky, so he has a lot of ties here. With his personality and knowledge of basketball across Kentucky and the region, he’s going to be a great recruiter for us.”
Byington joins Neubauer’s staff after spending a year as the director of basketball operations at Virginia, where he was responsible for video edits and scouting for all Cavalier games. He was also charged with organizing practice sessions, on-campus recruiting, film exchange, and running basketball camps among other duties.
He spent one year in Charlottesville after serving as an assistant coach at the College of Charleston for two seasons. At Charleston, he was accountable for scheduling and monitoring the academic progress of the players among his normal coaching responsibilities. He was also a part of the off-campus recruiting efforts for the Cougars.
Prior to assuming his role at College of Charleston, he spent a season as a graduate assistant at Virginia, then moved into an assistant coaching position at Hargrave Military Academy.
Byington played collegiately at North Carolina-Wilmington from 1994-1998. He was a two-time Colonial Athletic Association All-Academic selection during his career, and was tabbed All-Conference and All-Defensive Team as a senior.
He acquired his bachelor’s degree in physical education from UNCW in 1998, then went on to earn his master’s degree in sport psychology from Virginia in 2003.
“I know Mark very well from his playing days at UNC-Wilmington,” said Neubauer.
“He played for Jerry Wainwright, who is a terrific defensive coach, and he has worked under Pete Gillen at Virginia and Tom Herrion at the College of Charleston, so he has a great coaching background. He’s also had experience recruiting, which will serve our program well. He’s going to be a very good coach, not only in the recruiting aspect, but in all facets of our business.”
Neubauer and his new staff are currently ramping up recruiting efforts and preparing for their first season at the helm of the EKU program.
