TORRINGTON – Following a search process that had more than 120 applicants, according to a release from Eastern Wyoming College, Lancer alum Tim Moser was announced Monday as the new men’s basketball coach and fitness center director.
“I’ve come here for one thing and that’s to turn this program around,” Moser said of returning to the gym he once played and coached in. “I like Torrington and some of the best people I’ve ever met in my life are here, but the fact is this is going to be a hard job and we’re going to get to work right away to do it.”
Moser graduated from EWC in 1989 and also spent some time coaching for the Lancers, sitting on the bench from 1994-1998. Following his time with EWC, Moser went on to pilot Otero Junior College’s men’s and women’s programs. At the junior college level as a head coach, Moser compiled a record of 309-109.
Moser left Otero and became the head coach of the women’s basketball team at the University of Alaska Anchorage, where he posted a record of 150-31. He stayed in Alaska for six years before stepping up to the Division I level as an assistant coach for the Colorado State women’s basketball program, a position he has held since 2012.
Moser’s time with the Seawolves in Alaska did have some controversy. He was found responsible for two NCAA scholarship violations. In a May 9, 2014 article by the Achorage Daily News, Moser was also accused of an inappropriate consensual relationship with a player. The accusation came from a UAA athletic director who had been fired.
“(The NCAA scholarship violations) was definitely a lapse in my judgement. I was trying to take care of a couple of my players. I am 100 percent responsible for that,” Moser said. “The story about the relationship was a total lie. It was fake news.”
Throughout his coaching career, Moser has compiled a career record of 710-218.
“I wanted to be a head coach again, but there is no doubt Eastern Wyoming is in my blood,” Moser said of the decision to take over the Lancer program. “I wanted to get back and lead men.”
Moser is taking over a program that went 1-27 a season ago. Since the 2010-11 season, the Lancers have a combined record of 66-169, with the best season in that span coming in 2012-13, when the team went .500 (16-16).
“This program is broken. It is not in the best of shape right now,” Moser said. “We’ve got to get out and build some contacts and work. I think this place deserves a champion. It’s always been one and that’s what I remember it as. Coming in here, that’s what I remember and I want to get it back there. It’s going to be a process, but it’s going to start today.”
Moser said the first step to getting back to the way he remembers of the EWC men’s basketball program is to recruit and fill a roster with guys who will represent the Lancers well on and off the court. When it comes to this winter, Moser said a hardworking team is the first thing to expect on the hardwood for the Lancers.
“We want to play harder than anybody,” Moser said. “We want to represent this community and this college better than any other program would. I think the biggest thing we’re going to shoot for is we want to be a team that everyone is envious of and wants to be a part of.”
