Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Sources: Neighbors to coach UA women
FAYETTEVILLE — University of Washington women’s basketball Coach Mike Neighbors is expected to be named head coach at Arkansas, multiple sources have told WholeHogSports.
An Arkansas spokesman was unable to confirm the hire Sunday. Barring any last-minute changes, an official announcement is expected early this week, sources said.
The Seattle Times reported Sunday that Neighbors is expected to leave for Arkansas.
Neighbors, 47, is a native of Greenwood and a graduate of the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. He has a 9841 record in four seasons at Washington and led the Huskies to the Final Four last year.
Neighbors is under contract with Washington through the 2022-23 season.
Washington was 29-6 this season and was eliminated by national runnerup Mississippi State in the Sweet 16. The Huskies have made the NCAA Tournament the past three seasons and Neighbors recruited and coached 2017 Naismith Trophy winner Kelsey Plum, whose 3,527 career points are an NCAA record.
Neighbors referred to Arkansas as his “dream job” during a 2014 interview with the Seattle Times, “and everybody knows that.” He still has family, including children, in the state.
Neighbors would replace Jimmy Dykes, who resigned last month after going 13-17, including a program-worst 2-14 in SEC play. The Razorbacks ended the season on an 11-game losing streak.
Dykes, who played for the Razorbacks, was hired in 2014 despite having no experience coaching women’s basketball or as a head coach. Dykes had not coached at any level in 23 years and was a longtime analyst for ESPN before being hired at Arkansas.
Neighbors has twice worked for the Arkansas women’s program. He was director of operations under Gary Blair from 1999-2001 and an assistant coach for Susie Gardner in 2006-2007.
Neighbors also has been an assistant coach at Tulsa, Colorado, Xavier and Washington before being promoted by the Huskies to his first college head coaching job in 2013.
Neighbors was a high school head coach at Bentonville and Cabot in the 1990s. In 1997 he led Bentonville to a state runner-up finish two seasons after the program had finished with a 1-24 record.