Loyola University head coach Porter Moser was named the Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year at a State Farm MVC Tournament luncheon on Thursday. Moser, in his seventh year at Loyola, has guided the Ramblers to their first outright regular-season conference title since 1984-85. He is the first Loyola bench boss to be named conference coach of the year regardless of league, since Gene Sullivan in 1984-85, and the first Loyola coach to win the honor in the MVC (Loyola is in its fifth season in the Conference.)
This season has been the most successful in Rogers Park in over 30 years and Moser has piloted the program to its most wins (25) in the regular season since 1947-48, when it went 26-9. In addition, the Ramblers set a new program standard with 15 league wins, surpassing the previous total of 13 set by the 1984-85 squad. In December, Moser led Loyola to a 65-59 victory at No. 5 Florida, the program’s first win over a top-five team since 1984.
Moser became one of only five individuals in league history to win a MVC regular-season title as both a player and a head coach thanks to this year’s regular-season championship. With a 102-78 victory over UNC Wilmington on November 24, Moser recorded his 200th career victory as a head coach and this season also became just the sixth coach in Loyola history to steer the Ramblers to 100 wins.
He has recruited and mentored two MVC Freshman of the Year selections in Milton Doyle and Cameron Krutwig during his Loyola tenure, as well as 2018 Larry Bird Trophy winner as the MVC Player of the Year, Clayton Custer. This season, Moser helped develop Ben Richardson into the MVC Defensive Player of the Year, while five different players collected a total of 12 postseason awards from the league.
Loyola opens up Arch Madness Friday (March 2) at noon versus the winner of this evening’s No. 8 Evansville versus No. 9 UNI game. The Ramblers are seeking their first NCAA Tournament berth since reaching the NCAA Sweet 16 in 1984-85.
