After leading their college basketball programs to postseason runs, two coaches from Utah schools are leaving for other opportunities.
Utah Valley announced Wednesday that coach Mark Madsen will leave the program to coach Cal. He spent four years at UVU — his first head coaching job — during which he elevated the Wolverines from a losing team to one that narrowly lost to University of Alabama-Birmingham in the NIT semifinals.
Madsen led Utah Valley to a 70-51 overall record, but the 2022-23 season was the best in program history.
“Mark Madsen has taken our program to unprecedented never-seen-before heights,” Utah Valley athletic director Jared Sumsion said in a news release. “I appreciate how much he cared about our student-athletes and we thank him for his service to our program. We wish him and his family the very best in his new role at Cal.”
Elsewhere in the state, Utah State coach Ryan Odom was officially hired as coach at Virginia Commonwealth.
The North Carolina native led the Aggies to the first round of the NCAA Tournament, where they lost to Missouri. USU boasted a record of 26-9 overall this past season.
Odom replaced Craig Smith — now coach of the Utah Runnin’ Utes — in April 2021. He leaves Utah State after two full seasons and a 44-25 record overall.
