BOISE, Idaho – Former Montana women's basketball coach Mike Petrino has landed with Boise State.
Boise State women's basketball head coach Gordy Presnell announced Wednesday the hiring of Petrino as assistant coach. Petrino joins the Broncos with 28 years of coaching experience, including a decade at the collegiate level, most recently as the interim head coach of the Lady Griz during the 2020-21 season.
"We are excited that Mike Petrino has decided to join our coaching staff," Presnell said in a media release. "He is a successful, high-character coach that has great experience in all facets of coaching. We look forward to him helping to carry on the tradition and legacy of Boise State women's basketball."
"My family and I are super excited to get to Boise and to be Broncos," Petrino said. "I have enjoyed getting to know Gordy and I have great respect for the job he has done leading his program to its well-documented success over the years. I'm looking forward to learning from and working with Gordy, Heather (Sower) and Cariann (Ramirez). I have been so impressed by the communication from the staff and administration throughout this process. I am very grateful for this opportunity and can't wait to get started."
Petrino took over as Montana's interim head coach in April 2020 after spending the previous four seasons as an assistant coach for the Lady Griz. He navigated the program through the pandemic-riddled 2020-21 campaign, finishing with a 12-11 record and a program-record 3.61 team grade-point average. Abby Anderson and Carmen Gfeller were honored as all-Big Sky Conference selections for the Lady Griz.
In his four seasons as an assistant, Petrino had a hand in all facets of the Montana women's basketball program, including recruiting, film study, scouting reports and practice instruction. Before arriving in Missoula, he was the video coordinator at Colorado for one season.
Petrino is no stranger to the Mountain West Conference, beginning his college coaching career at Wyoming. As an assistant coach for four years from 2011-15, Petrino led the Cowgirls' recruiting efforts, including signing Missoula Sentinel product Liv Roberts who went on to become the Mountain West player of the year. His work on and off the court helped the program climb from 12 wins in his first season to three winning seasons, including a 24-win campaign in 2012-13.
Prior to Wyoming, Petrino spent 10 years coaching and teaching at Central Catholic High School in Portland, Ore., including five seasons as the boys basketball head coach. In those five years, he guided the Rams to a 97-37 record, winning five conference titles, three conference coach of the year honors and earning a pair of third-place finishes at the OSAA 6A state tournament.
Petrino was born in Glasgow and raised in Kalispell. A graduate of Montana State University Billings, Petrino started coaching at the prep level in 1993 at Kalispell Flathead High School. He spent nine years working his way through the Montana high school ranks before moving to Portland.
Petrino and his wife Kelly have two daughters, Jamieson and Hayden.
