COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- A member of the women’s basketball coaching staff at Liberty University for the past eight seasons, Adam Deyo has been named assistant coach at Tennessee Tech University. Deyo, 33, completes head coach Sytia Messer’s coaching staff for the 2011-12 season.
“This is a great opportunity for me to be involved with coach Messer’s program,” Deyo said. “There are not many coaches in the country who are as gifted as she is, both on and off the court. Not only is she a tremendous coach, she’s a tremendous person. It’s a real blessing for me, especially with me being married and having three young boys, to work in the type of environment that she has created at Tennessee Tech. She has family values, which is high on my priority list.”
A native of Cincinnati, Deyo attended Auburn University for
three years, then graduated from Gordon College in Wenham, Mass.,
in 2002. At Gordon, he was a member of the Fighting Scots
basketball squad and earned his bachelor's degree in Biblical and
Theological Studies in 2002.
“My family is really looking forward to coming to
Tennessee,” Deyo said. “The area is beautiful, the
people are wonderful, and it will be a joy working with coach
Messer and her staff. She has done an exceptional job resurrecting
the winning tradition and the school clearly cares about
women’s basketball. It’s a chance to be part of a
championship program.”
For the past eight seasons, Deyo has been a member of a successful
coaching staff at Liberty, helping the Lady Flames to six
conference championships and six appearances in the NCAA
tournament, including a Sweet 16 showing in 2005.
He filled the roles of director of basketball operations and
assistant coach at Liberty, and was responsible for the daily
operations of the program, including the logistics of practice and
game-day management, film coordinator, team travel arrangements and
scheduling of games.
During the 2010-11 season, he worked primarily with the posts as
Liberty earned another conference title. He also prepared game
scouts and did post-game film breakdown. In addition to his
on-floor coaching, Deyo has extensive experience evaluating and
recruiting top-level talent, as well as working with individual
development.
“We’re truly excited to bring Adam to our staff,” Messer said. “He has had success in his previous position, and we’re looking forward to working with him. I think he’s going to be a great addition to our staff, and will be a positive influence on our players.
“He brings tremendous energy,” she added. “He’s a husband, a father and a coach. He wears many different hats, and his values show in everything he does.”
As a senior with the Scots, he received the team’s Leadership Award. While in college, Deyo was also actively involved in Athletes in Action (AIA), working summer basketball camps and touring internationally with their basketball team. After college, he gained considerable playing experience with AIA against professional, national and amateur teams in six different countries. He toured with Athletes in Action on multiple occasions, both as a player and coach.
He also served as an intern with AIA in Colorado, where he met his future wife, Kelley, who served as an assistant coach for the Lady Flames for four seasons. The two were married in 2002. After their marriage, the Deyo's moved to Austria, where Kelley played professional basketball while Adam was on staff with AIA.
Adam and Kelley have three sons -- James (5), Judah (4) and Joseph (1).