Dale Layer

Dale Layer (born May 16, 1958)

Current position: Special assistant to the head coach
Current team: Texas A&M Aggies (Head coach: Buzz Williams)
Current conference: Southeastern Conference (SEC)
Teams coached: Queens (NC) Royals, Colorado State Rams, Liberty Flames
Queens (NC) record^: 168-88 (.656)
Colorado State record: 103-106 (.493)
Liberty record: 82-113 (.421)
Overall record^: 353-307 (.535)

Career Accomplishments:

  • NCAA National Championships:  0
  • NCAA Tournament Appearances:  2  (2003, 2013)
  • NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen:  0
  • NIT Championships:  0
  • NIT Appearances:  0
  • Big South Tournament Champion:  1  (2013)
  • Mountain West Tournament Champion:  1  (2003)
  • Carolinas (Div II) Regular Season Champion: (1998)
  • Carolinas (Div II) Tournament Champion:  2  (1996, 1998)
  • NCAA Division II Tournament Appearances:  2  (1996, 1998)

Awards:

Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):

2019-present Texas A&M (special asst)
2018-2019 Virginia Tech (special asst)
2017-2018 Mercer (asst)
2016-2017 Greensboro Swarm (asst)
2009-2015 Liberty
2008-2009 Marquette (asst)
2007-2008 Liberty (asst)
2000-2007 Colorado State
1998-2000 Colorado State (asst)
1989-1998 Queens (NC)
1983-1989 Eckerd (asst)
1982-1983 Eastern Kentucky (asst)
1980-1982 Eckerd (asst)

Dale Layer Facts

  • Dale Layer
  • Born May 16, 1958
  • Hometown: Gainesville, Florida
  • Alma Mater: Eckerd College (BA, 1980) / Eastern Kentucky University (MA, 1983)
  • Played for Jim Harley at D-II Eckerd (St. Petersburg, FL) then started his coaching career as an assistant there in 1980
  • Spent eight years as an assistant under Harley at Eckerd over two stints; one year in between was spent on Max Good‘s staff at D-I Eastern Kentucky
  • Hired in 1989 to be the first head coach at D-II Queens University in Charlotte, NC
    • Went 168-88 in nine seasons, reaching the D-II NCAA Tournament twice (in 1996 and 1998)
  • Hired in 1998 to be one of Ritchie McKay‘s assistants at Colorado State
    • Elevated to head coach in 2000 when McKay left for the Oregon State job
    • Led the Rams for seven seasons, going 103-106 and finishing above .500 four times
    • Won the 2003 MWC Tournament as the 6-seed to earn a surprise NCAA bid
    • Fired after the 2006-07 season with a total MWC record of just 31-67
  • Reunited with McKay for the 2007-08 season, serving as one of his assistants at Liberty
  • Hired by Buzz Williams, one of his own former assistants, in 2008 to be an assistant at Marquette, but returned to Liberty a year later
    • Went 82-113 in six seasons as Liberty head coach, leading the Flames to the postseason just once
    • Earned another surprise NCAA bid in 2013 after winning the Big South Tournament as a 5-seed
    • Let go in 2015 following a 8-24 (2-16) campaign, his fourth-straight sub-.500 season
  • Took a year off then worked as an assistant under Noel Gillespie with a NBA D-League expansion team, the Greensboro Swarm
  • Spent one season on Bob Hoffman‘s staff at Mercer then was re-hired by Buzz Williams to be a special assistant at Virginia Tech
    • Followed Williams to Texas A&M in 2019, assuming the same role for the Aggies program

Dale Layer Coaching Tree

  • Blake Flickner (Dallas Baptist)
  • Bart Lundy (Milwaukee, Queens NC, High Point)
  • Ritchie McKay (Liberty, New Mexico, Oregon State, Colorado State, Portland State)
  • Owen Miller (Mississippi Gulf Coast)
  • Brett Nelson (Holy Cross)
  • Bill Peterson (Erie BayHawks)
  • Buzz Williams (Texas A&M, Virginia Tech, Marquette, New Orleans)

 

^ overall record includes head coaching positions at both the NCAA Division I and Division II levels