Berea’s Harkleroad leaves Lady Mountaineers to take over program at Glenville State

Nathan Hutchinson

Bunky Harkleroad grew up in Berea.

He played basketball at Berea Community High School and, years later, returned to the school as a teacher.

He studied and later coached the women’s basketball team at Berea College and he has raised his three children in the small, cozy southern Madison County community.

“I love Berea,” Harkleroad said. “I love Berea College. I love the city of Berea. I’m a local guy.”

And ultimately, that’s why the decision to leave his hometown was in the end so very, very difficult for Harkleroad.

However, on Friday, he stepped after from his position at Berea College after accepting an offer to become the women’s coach at Glenville State — an NCAA Division II school in West Virginia.

In his nine seasons at the school, he compiled a 168-93 record and led the Lady Mountaineers to three-consecutive Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tourna-ment championships.

“It was so hard for me to decide to leave because so many people sacrificed so much for us to be successful,” Harkleroad said. “But, it’s a great opportunity and you’ve got to take advantage of that.”

Under Harkleroad, the Berea College women’s basketball team enjoyed unprecedented success. The Lady Mountaineers shattered a long list of school and national records after the coach implemented a fast-paced, up-tempo style that focused heavily on three-point shooting and a full-court press.

Berea regularly lead the nation in scoring and won 20 or more games in five-consecutive seasons. In 2006, the program won its first-ever KIAC Tourna-ment and earned a first-ever bid to the NAIA Division II National Tournament, then went on to win titles in each of the next two seasons.

Harkleroad also coached two All-Americans at Berea — Rebecca May and Candy Walls — and was named KIAC Coach of the Year four times.

“I don’t think anything in coaching will feel as good as our first conference championship did,” Harkleroad said. “The next two felt pretty darn good too. We had a lot of fun here at Berea.”

In their final season under Harkleroad, the Lady Mountaineers were 16-13 last year and lost in the opening round of the KIAC Tournament.

The Glenville State women’s basketball program has a rich, successful history. The Lady Pioneers had a 64-game home winning streak just a few years ago and have also made runs deep into the NCAA Division II National Tournament.

Last season, Glenville finished with a 9-19 record and lost in the first round of the WVIAC Tournament.

“It’s a big step, but it seems like there are a lot of similarities between the schools — they are both in small towns and there is a lot of excitement generated by sports,” Harkleroad said. “It was a good fit in a lot of ways. It’s a good league and I’m excited.”

And Harkleroad hopes that his unique run-and-gun system will also be a good fit at Glenville.

“I’m very passionate about playing up-tempo and shooting a lot of threes and pressing and getting after people and playing a lot of kids,” Harkleroad said. “But, I haven’t had the opportunity to evaluate the talent (at Glenville State).”

With Harkleroad leaving, assistant coach Summer Simmons has been named the team’s interim coach. The Lawrenceburg native played at Berea for two years and has been an assistant on Harkleroad’s staff for the past five years.

“If Summer wants to be the head coach at Berea College, then I think she would do a great job and would have nothing but my full support,” Harkleroad said. “I think if she wants the job, it would be a great hire for Berea College.”

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