Ed Wyant has had a hunger to direct his own program, but never found the opportunity. He has found the right fit at Wofford College, which named Wyant its new women's head basketball coach on Monday.
"It is something that I have been waiting a long time for," he said. "I am not able to put into words how excited I am."
Wyant has been UNM head coach Don Flanagan's top assistant during the past seven years, helping build a program that won only 14 games in four years to a team that has posted six straight winning seasons and two NCAA Tournament appearances.
The New Jersey native said the one drawback of the new job is leaving all the friendships he has developed over the years.
"I think at some point I might break down into tears," he said. "I am going to really miss the returning players, and I have been with Don Flanagan for so long. But I can't stay an assistant coach forever."
Wofford is a small Division I school located in Spartanburg, S.C. The Terriers posted a 16-13 record season this year, finishing fifth in the Southern Conference at 9-9.
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"It is a good fit for my family, it has a friendly environment and a good basketball program," Wyant said. "It is a really good fit.
"It's in Division One and I want the opportunity to put a stamp on my own program."
He takes over for former coach David Graves, who resigned March 23 to take an assistant coaching position at Western Kentucky University. He compiled a 54-115 record in six seasons.
Wofford Athletics Director Richard Johnson said Wyant's credentials and his success with the Lobos stood out.
"We are very excited and pleased to find someone that is such an excellent coach, teacher and an excellent recruiter," Johnson said. "We wanted to find someone the girls can trust, someone that can run the program and I think we did that."
He added that UNM assistant Athletics Director Bill McGillis knows Wofford's sports information director Mark Cohen and told Cohen about Wyant's talent as a coach.
Wyant started his career in 1984 when Flanagan, who was the women's basketball head coach at Eldorado High School, hired him to lead the freshman team. Wyant coached at Eldorado until 1990, when he was named head coach at Sandia High. He compiled an 86-37 record during the next five seasons. He arrived at UNM in 1995 when Flanagan was named the head coach and the Lobos have posted only one losing season since.
"Ed has helped build that program and the academics," Johnson said. "I think Ed will be able to replicate, in a smaller scale, the success they had at UNM."
Flanagan said he is not surprised by the departure because he knew Wyant was seeking to become a head coach and was helping him find a suitable position.
He added that the program is going to miss his dedication.
"We have the same coaching philosophy, we have a great understanding of one another," Flanagan said. "He has done an excellent job recruiting. He is going to be hard to replace with that type of experience."
Flanagan said he has already received a lot of interest in the vacancy Wyant left and hopes to have someone by June, while Wyant will take his knowledge and try to build a successful program at Wofford.
The Terriers are losing five seniors, including conference player of the year Jenny Nett, who averaged 21 points per game. Wyant said that he is going to use the same formula he and Flanagan instilled at UNM.
"Things won't change," Wyant said. "We are going to work hard, play together, play smart. We are going to be a blue collar team, just like at UNM."
As for playing the Lobos down the line, Wyant said it will not happen anytime soon because Wofford is in a rebuilding stage while UNM is a top-25 program.
