ASU names Tim Mickelson head golf coach

ASU names Tim Mickelson head golf coach

Tim Mickelson, who led the University of San Diego to the school’s first three NCAA appearances in program history, has been named the head coach of the Arizona State University men’s golf program, senior associate athletic director Don Bocchi announced. Mickelson, who has earned West Coast Conference Coach of the Year honors four times, becomes the 13th coach in the history of the program.

“Sun Devil fans have heard me speak frequently about identifying and hiring master coaches at Arizona State University,” says Vice President for Athletics Lisa Love. “Tim Mickelson possesses the qualities of what we’re looking for and not just because of his famous last name. He is a talented leader, a knowledgeable coach and a dynamic recruiter. He has the ability to rally our Sun Devil community around the sport of men’s golf. He knows our program from being a student-athlete here and he understands the Sun Devil Way. When our other head coaches and staff met him they also were struck by his personality and demeanor.”

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“It’s an honor to be the next men’s golf coach at Arizona State,” says Mickelson. “Our goal will be to produce teams and individuals who are competing at the highest level. I want to express my gratitude the University of San Diego for giving me the opportunity to become a head coach and I also want to thank everyone at ASU for the opportunity to take the reins of this program and guide them in the future. I look forward to working with the Phoenix golf community in promoting the program and working with another national championship coach in Melissa McNamara Luellen [women’s golf NCAA champions in 2009]. It’s an honor and a privilege to once again be a part of Arizona State and the Pac-12 Conference. Fork ‘em Devils!”

Mickelson, the younger brother of Sun Devil and PGA Tour professional Phil Mickelson, arrives at ASU following a remarkable eight-year run at USD where he steadily built the program into a national contender, which has finished in the Top 20 each of the last three years, including an eighth-place finish in 2010. In addition to advancing to NCAAs the past three seasons, Mickelson has guided the program to the NCAA Regionals five of the last six seasons, including the last four in succession. He also spear-headed the most successful season in USD history in 2009-10, leading the Toreros to a school-record five tournament victories and 10 top-5 team finishes.

In 2011 Mickelson was named WCC Coach of the Year for the fourth time in his career (‘11, ‘10, ‘08, ‘05), as he led the Toreros to nine top-five finishes, including a pair of tournament victories, and a 16th-place finish at the NCAA Championships. Under Mickelson’s guidance, USD junior Alex Ching was named the WCC’s Golfer of the Year.

After inheriting a Torero team that had placed in the lower half of the WCC in 2003, Mickelson immediately led San Diego to a top-tier conference finish in his first year directing the fortunes of the USD program. Mickelson’s second campaign was highlighted by San Diego winning team championship honors at the 17-school, 2005 Men’s Fidelity National Title held at Cypress Ridge Golf Course on California’s Central Coast.

Prior to taking the head coaching position at USD, Mickelson spent two seasons as assistant to Dale Walker at San Diego State, helping lead the Aztecs to back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Regionals, as well as an appearance in the 2003 NCAA National Championships.

Mickelson, who was a member of ASU’s 1996 NCAA Championship team, played three seasons at Arizona State (1995-98) before concluding his collegiate career at Oregon State. Mickelson also earned Academic All-Pac-10 honors in 1997 and 1998. At OSU Mickelson finished second individually at the 2000 Pac-10 Championships, leading the Beavers to a second-place conference finish. The current holder of numerous OSU golf records, including low 18, 36, 54, and 72-hole scoring records, he graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in Liberal Studies.

Mickelson’s hire is pending additional paperwork completed by the ASU Human Resources Department.

Arizona State Men’s Golf Head Coaches:
Aaron McCreary, 1931
Joe Selleh, 1932
Earl Pomeroy, 1940
Bill Quinn, 1948-1949
Al Onofrio, 1952-1956
John Zuchowski, 1958
Francis E. Markham, 1959-1960
Bill Mann, 1961-1974
George Boutell, 1975-1986
Steve Loy, 1987-1992
Todd Rolfes, 1992 (interim)
Randy Lein, 1992-2011
Tim Mickelson, 2011