May 25, 2007

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Woodie Eubanks, Samford's men's golf coach since the fall of 2003, will now take over the school's women's golf program as well, director of athletics Bob Roller announced Friday.

"We are very fortunate to have someone like Woodie who has the ability and expertise to lead our two programs," Roller said. "He came to us with a well designed plan for coaching both teams, and he has a strong desire to lead our programs for many years to come."

Eubanks takes over for Ian Thompson who resigned after serving as the team's head coach for the past eight seasons. Thompson will remain as an assistant golf coach to Eubanks.

"I am very excited to have the opportunity to coach both programs," Eubanks said. "I look forward to setting a standard in golf here at Samford.

In Eubanks' second season as the men's golf coach in 2005, he led the team to an Ohio Valley Conference championship and an appearance in an NCAA regional in Palo Alto, Calif.

For the 2004-05 season, the men's golf team finished the regular season with a team stroke average of 290 just 2.5 over par. The Bulldogs were ranked for the first time ever at 100th in the nation during the season and ended the regular season ranked 106th overall in the Golfstat Rankings.

Eubanks, a 1998 graduate of Samford, takes over a women's program coming off a strong season. The Bulldogs finished third in the OVC Tournament, and freshman Katelyn Stanier won the tournament's individual title.

"I feel we will have the opportunity to develop two strong programs going into the transition into the Southern Conference, with the help of Ian Thompson as my assistant, who brings experience and knowledge far beyond coaching into this situation," Eubanks said. "This will be a satisfying experience since we will have two coaches who are Samford alums on the staff. The success of the teams runs very deep and I look forward to the future of Samford golf."