Purdue Northwest Director of Athletics Rick Costello announced the hiring of Brian “Boomer” Roberts as the university’s new men’s basketball head coach Monday evening. Roberts joins the Pride after a nearly four-year stint at Trinity International University in Deerfield, Ill., where he compiled an 84-48 overall record (.640 win percentage) over four seasons. Roberts engineered the largest three-year turnaround at any level of college basketball from 2014 to 2017 bringing the Trojans from five wins in a season to 30.
“Boomer fit the mold of exactly what we were looking for in a new coach,” said Costello. “He did an amazing job turning the Trinity International program in a short time and instills a ton of energy and passion into his programs. He is a rising star in the collegiate coaching profession. Boomer also has plenty of experience recruiting talented players from across the country, so I know he will do an excellent job building the Pride into a contender within the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.”
Over the last two seasons at TIU, the men’s team posted 51 victories (51-17) more than any other four-year institution in Illinois over the same stretch. In 2016-17, the Trojans shared the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) regular season title with a conference record of 18-2 and boasted the CCAC Player of the Year in Zach Kirschbaum. Roberts was also named the CCAC Men’s Basketball Co-Coach of the Year that season.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to be the next head men’s basketball coach at Purdue Northwest and would like to thank Chancellor Keon and Rick Costello for trusting me to lead this program moving forward,” said Roberts. “My family and I are excited about the chance to be a part of the PNW family. We understand the challenge ahead of us, but we look forward to being ‘In the Fight’ with our guys as we compete in the classroom, in the community and on the court.”
TIU finished the 2016-17 campaign by advancing to the quarterfinals of the NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball National Championships and ranked No. 7 in the final NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Postseason Poll. The squad also set a new program record for wins in a season and made the deepest postseason run of any Trinity International team in school history. In addition, the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) named Roberts the Region Co-Coach of the Year.
Prior to joining the TIU program, Roberts served as the lead assistant coach at Vanguard University in Costa Mesa, Calif., from 2010-14. The Lions won the NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball National Championship in 2014 as well as claiming the regular season and tournament titles of the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC). During his time at VU, Roberts recruited and coaches four NAIA All-Americans, a GSAC Player of the Year, five all-conference players and 12 NAIA Scholar-Athletes.
Roberts was a former men’s basketball player at Vanguard and served as team captain for two seasons. In 2008, he was awarded VU’s “Male Athlete of Character” award. Roberts has a master’s degree in coaching and athletic administration from Concordia University Irvine (Calif.) and a bachelor’s degree in communications studies from Vanguard.
Roberts and his wife, Brittney, have two sons, Griffin and Trey. The family currently resides in Gurnee, Ill.
