Wayne Francis Tinkle II (born January 26, 1966) is an American

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

coach who is the

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

of the Oregon State Beavers men's team of the

West Coast Conference The West Coast Conference (WCC) — known as the California Basketball Association from 1952 to 1956 and then as the West Coast Athletic Conference until 1989 — is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I consisting o ...

.Tinkle to coach Montana; Krystkowiak to join Bucks - Men's College Basketball - ESPN
/ref> Prior to his arrival in Corvallis in 2014, he was the head coach for eight seasons in the

Big Sky Conference The Big Sky Conference is a List of NCAA conferences, collegiate athletic conference, affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I with college football, football competing in the Football Cha ...

at his alma mater,

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

, preceded by five years with the Griz as an assistant coach. Tinkle played professionally for twelve seasons until 2000, including stints in the

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA), originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association, was a men's professional basketball m ...

(CBA) and

International Basketball League The International Basketball League (IBL) was a semi-professional men's basketball league featuring teams from the West Coast of the United States. In 2010 the Albany Legends became the first team in the Northeastern United States to join. The ...

(IBL) and in Sweden, Spain, Italy, and Greece.

Early life and college

Born in

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

, Tinkle's family moved to

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south o ...

, and he graduated from Ferris High School in 1984. In his senior season, he led the Greater Spokane League in scoring and field goal percentage (61.8). Tinkle played college basketball at the

University of Montana The University of Montana (UM) is a public research university in Missoula, Montana, United States. UM is a flagship institution of the Montana University System and its second largest campus. Fall 2024 saw total enrollment hit 10,811, marki ...

Missoula Missoula ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Missoula County, Montana, Missoula County, Montana, United States. It is located along the Clark Fork River near its confluence with the Bitterroot River, Bitterroot and Blackfoot River (Montana), ...

from 1984 to 1989, under head coaches

Mike Montgomery Mike or Michael Montgomery may also refer to: *Mike Montgomery (basketball), American basketball coach *Michael Montgomery (born 1983), American football defensive end *Mike Montgomery (American football) (born 1949), American football running back ...

and

Stew Morrill Stewart Morrill (born July 25, 1952) is an American college basketball coach and the former head coach of the Utah State University men's basketball team. Biography Morrill was an All-American at Ricks College and a two-time All-Big Sky sele ...

. As a senior, he was named to the conference's second team.

Professional playing career

Tinkle played professionally for twelve years, spending most of his time in Europe in Sweden, Italy, Spain, and Greece. The

Topeka Sizzlers The Topeka Sizzlers, originally the Kansas City Sizzlers, were a professional basketball team based in Kansas City, Missouri from 1985 to 1986 until they relocated to Topeka, Kansas where they played from 1986 to 1990. The Sizzlers were members of ...

selected him in the second round, 26th overall, in the 1989 CBA draft. Tinkle played in 12 games for the Sizzlers and averaged 19.0 points and 10.4 rebounds. Later in his first season, he signed with

Liège Basket Liège Basket was a Belgian professional basketball club from Liège. The club competed in the BNXT League. Founded in 1967, the team played at 5,600 seat Country Hall Ethias Liège. The club was one of the traditional clubs in Belgian basketbal ...

of Basketball League Belgium and averaged 24.1 points and 11.5 rebounds. In the 1990–91 season, Tinkle played for the

Solna Vikings Solna Vikings was a Swedish professional basketball club with a men's team and a women's team. Both played in their respective top leagues: the women in the Damligan, and the men in the Swedish Basketball League. History The Solna Vikings was ...

of the Swedish

Basketligan Svenska Basketligan, or the Swedish Basketball League (SBL), is the premier league for professional basketball in Sweden. The league was originally established in 1992 as Basketligan and was known as that prior to the season of 2006–07, but whe ...

, averaging 21.3 points and 11.0 rebounds. From 1991 to 1993, Tinkle played for the

Tri-City Chinook The Tri-City Chinook were a professional basketball team based in Kennewick, Washington. They played 4 seasons in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA), the defunct development league for the National Basketball Association (NBA). The team ...

of the CBA. He played in the CBA All-Star Game in 1993. On February 19, 1993, Tinkle signed with Juver Murcia of the Spanish

Liga ACB The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administered by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, w ...

. In 5 regular season games, Tinkle averaged 15.4 points and 7.6 rebounds. Tinkle began the 1993–94 season with the CBA's

Rapid City Thrillers The Rapid City Thrillers were a semi-professional basketball team in Rapid City, South Dakota, that competed in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) beginning in the 1987 season. They were reincarnated in 1998 as an International Basket ...

, until he signed with Onyx Caserta of the Italian

Lega Basket The Lega Basket A (officially: ''Lega Società di Pallacanestro Serie A'', English: Basket League) is the organizing body, as delegated by the Italian Basketball Federation, of the top division of Italian professional men's basketball league, ...

on December 28, 1993. In nine games with Caserta, he averaged 18.7 points and 6.8 rebounds. On March 4, 1994, Tinkle re-signed with Rapid City. In the 1994–95 season, Tinkle began with Pagrati Athens of the

Greek Basket League The Greek Basketball League (GBL), and also known as the Stoiximan Greek Basketball League (GBL) for sponsorship reasons, is the Greek basketball league system, first tier level professional basketball league in Greece. It is run by the ...

, before signing with Somontano Huesca of Liga ACB on November 25. In 21 regular season games, he averaged 12.5 points and 6.9 rebounds, and remained with the team the following season, when it became Grupo AGB Huesca. Tinkle improved to 16.8 points and 7.2 rebounds in the 1995–96 season. For Covirán Granada in the 1996–97 season, Tinkle averaged 16.2 points and 9.8 rebounds in 34 regular season games. The following season with Fórum Filatélico Valladolid, he averaged 14.1 points and 7.0 rebounds in 34 regular season games. With

Cáceres CB Cáceres Club Baloncesto also known as Cáceres CB was a basketball club based in Cáceres, Spain, Cáceres, Spain. It was founded in 1961. History Cáceres CB club participated in 11 ACB League (from 1992 to 2003) and in two editions of the Li ...

in the 1998–99 season, Tinkle averaged 10.3 points and 6.6 rebounds. After sitting out the 1999–2000 season due to injuries, Tinkle signed with the

Las Vegas Silver Bandits The Las Vegas Silver Bandits were a team in the International Basketball League (IBL). They played at the Thomas and Mack Center in Paradise, Nevada in 1999. The team president was Michael A. Olsen. The V.P. of Basketball Operations was Cindy H ...

of the

in January 2001, in what would be his final time playing professionally and the final season of the team. In 17 games with Las Vegas, Tinkle averaged 11.4 points and 5.1 rebounds.

Personal life

Wayne is married to Lisa McLeod, a former player for the Lady Griz. They have two daughters; Joslyn, who plays for the

Sydney Uni Flames The Sydney Flames are an Australian professional basketball team based in Sydney, New South Wales. The Flames compete in the Women's National Basketball League The Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) is a professional women's basketba ...

professional women's basketball team, and Elle, a former player at

Gonzaga Gonzaga may refer to: Places *Gonzaga, Lombardy, commune in the province of Mantua, Italy *Gonzaga, Cagayan, municipality in the Philippines *Gonzaga, Minas Gerais, town in Brazil *Forte Gonzaga, fort in Messina, Sicily Surname *House of Gonza ...

; and a son

Tres Tres may refer to: * Tres (instrument), a Cuban musical instrument * Tres, Trentino, municipality in Italy * ''Tres'' (2014 film), a Filipino anthology drama film based on short stories * "Tres" (song) by Juanes *"Tres", a song by Líbido from thei ...

, who played for him at Oregon State. In 2014, Tinkle was named the Sexiest Man in College Basketball by CollegeInsider.com.

Coaching career

Montana

Tinkle was hired as an assistant coach at his alma mater in September 2001, and served under three head coaches. When

Larry Krystkowiak Larry Brett Krystkowiak ( ; born September 23, 1964) is a retired American professional basketball player, and former head coach of the Utah Utes men's basketball team. Early life Krystkowiak was born in Missoula, Montana, to Bernard and Helen K ...

left Missoula for an assistant's job in the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

with the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

, Tinkle was promoted to head coach in June 2006. He became one of the winningest coaches in school history, boasting an overall record of . Tinkle was the first at Montana to advance to the NCAA tournament three times, and his 158 victories are the fourth-highest. He was in Big Sky Conference games, the most league wins by any coach at UM. In his penultimate season in Missoula, Tinkle led the Grizzlies to their second straight trip to the NCAA tournament, as UM played 19th-ranked

Syracuse Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...

. It was Montana's third trip to the Big Dance in four seasons, and the tenth in school history. With its NCAA berth in 2012, Montana advanced to post-season play a school-record four straight seasons. Montana went 19–1 in conference play that season en route to winning the conference's regular-season title, and those 19 victories are a Big Sky record. Tinkle was tabbed the Big Sky's "Coach of the Year" in the 2011–12 and

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

seasons. He is the first coach in Montana history to be named the Big Sky's coach of the year twice, and was a finalist for the Hugh Durham Award, presented annually to the mid-major coach of the year. In 2011–12, the 13th-seeded Grizzlies played the fourth-seeded and 14th-ranked (Associated Press)

Wisconsin Badgers The Wisconsin Badgers are the College athletics in the United States, athletic teams representing the University of Wisconsin–Madison. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I ...

in an NCAA tournament game in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The Grizzlies lost to finish at 25–7, and tied a school record with their fourth consecutive twenty-win season (25–7, 25–7, 21–11, and 22–10). Montana was ranked 14th in the final Mid-Major Top 25 Poll following the 2012–13 season. Their 25 wins in 2012–13 tied the previous season's team for the second-most ever in school history. (The 1991–92 and 1949–50 squads are tied for the most victories.) When the Grizzlies defeated

Weber State Weber State University (pronounced ) is a public university in Ogden, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1889 as Weber Stake Academy and earned its current name in 1991. As of fall 2023, the student population reached 30,536 students, cons ...

in the Big Sky tournament final on March 16, 2013, it was their 93rd win over the last four seasons – a school record. Tinkle was recognized for the Grizzlies' success in 2012, as he was named the NABC Division I All-District 6 "Coach of the Year" by NABC. In 2010–11, he guided Montana to a 21–11 record and a berth in the

College Basketball Invitational The College Basketball Invitational (CBI) is a men's college basketball tournament created in 2007 by The Gazelle Group. The inaugural tournament occurred after the conclusion of the 2007–08 men's college basketball regular season. The CBI sel ...

(CBI) tournament. In 2009–10, the Griz went 22–10, won the league's tourney and advanced to the NCAAs, but lost by five points to

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

. Tinkle went to the NCAA tournament six times at Montana: three as the head coach and three as an assistant (

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

against

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

(head coach Don Holst),

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

vs.

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, and

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

against

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

and

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

with mentor

Oregon State

On May 19, 2014, Tinkle left for

Oregon State Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate degree programs and a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees through all 11 of the universit ...

of the

Pac–12 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level for all sports, and its Co ...

. In the 2016–17 season, Tinkle tied the record for most losses (27) in a single season by a major conference coach. In the 2020–21 season, the Beavers were projected to finish last in the Pac-12. The Beavers finished tied for 6th in the regular season standings and eventually won the Pac-12 tournament, where they automatically received a bid to the 2021 NCAA tournament. The Beavers were selected as a 12 seed in the NCAA tournament and made a run to the Elite 8, with victories over

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

Oklahoma State Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...

, and Loyola-Chicago, before losing to the

Houston Cougars The Houston Cougars are the athletic teams representing the University of Houston. Informally, the Houston Cougars have also been referred to as the Coogs, UH, or simply Houston. Houston's nickname was suggested by early physical education inst ...

with their best finish in the tournament since 1965–66. In the 2021–22 season, Tinkle broke his own record for most losses in a single season by a major conference coach. The record only lasted one year before being broken by Mark Fox.

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tinkle, Wayne 1966 births Living people Basketball coaches from Washington (state) American expatriate basketball people in Greece American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Spain American expatriate basketball people in Sweden Basketball players from Spokane, Washington CB Granada players CB Murcia players CB Peñas Huesca players CB Valladolid players College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Juvecaserta Basket players Las Vegas Silver Bandits players Liège Basket players Liga ACB players Montana Grizzlies basketball coaches Montana Grizzlies basketball players Oregon State Beavers men's basketball coaches Pagrati B.C. players Rapid City Thrillers players Sportspeople from Milwaukee Topeka Sizzlers players Tri-City Chinook players American men's basketball players Centers (basketball) Basketball players from Milwaukee 20th-century American sportsmen