May 18, 2005

Los Angeles, CA (May 18) -- Loyola Marymount University Head Men's Basketball Coach Rodney Tention officially announced on Thursday the hiring of three assistant coaches to join him in his first season at the helm of the Lions. Former Lions' assistant Brian Priebe, former Pacific assistant Calvin Byrd and former Cal Poly Pomona assistant Steve Wachs will join Tention's staff to lead the LMU men's basketball program.

"This is a very successful, hard working group of individuals," said Tention, who was hired in April after spending eight seasons as an assistant at Arizona. "I am very excited by this group. I was fortunate to have Brian stay with the program. It was great opportunity for us to have Calvin join us after a successful tenure at Pacific and then to have Steve, an LMU alum with a successful background in coaching at the collegiate level, was a great final piece to our staff."

Priebe will enter his 13th season as an NCAA Division I men's basketball coach and sixth at Loyola Marymount University. Priebe spent four seasons at Eastern Washington before coming to LMU for the 2000-01 season. Priebe will continue to coordinate the recruiting efforts of the LMU program, a similar role he held at Eastern Washington. LMU's first recruit with Priebe, Sherman Gay, became the first LMU player to earn West Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2004.

Priebe also served as LMU's academic coordinator. The Lions had Smith and Pablo Machado named to the WCC Academic All-Conference team, also a first since 1997. In 2003 and 2004 Jason Dickens joined the list of Academic All-WCC selections at LMU. In the recent report released by the NCAA, the LMU men's basketball program earned an APR of 1000, a perfect score. In addition, the Lions have been earning their degrees. In four seasons, 14 of 15 LMU seniors have graduated. At EWU, he had 16 Academic All-Big Sky performers and one academic All-America team selection.

He is a 1995 graduate of the University of Washington where he spent two seasons (1993-95) as the senior student assistant for former Washington Head Coach Bob Bender at the Pacific-10 school. Following his bachelor's degree in history at UW, he completed his master's degree in athletic administration at EWU in 1997 while serving in his assistant role.

Byrd joins Loyola Marymount and Tention's staff after spending four seasons at the University of the Pacific. Byrd is no stranger to the WCC as he coached two seasons at the University of San Francisco before joining the Tigers. Throughout his career, success has followed Byrd. As an assistant his teams hold a record of 121-85 (.587) overall and are 67-49 (.578) in conference play.

While at Pacific the last four seasons, the Tigers achieved unmatched success. Byrd was part of the staff that led the Tigers to back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Tournament, advancing to the second round in 2004 and 2005. The 2004-05 season was the best in school history as the Tigers went 27-4, knocking off Pittsburgh in the first round. During his four years at Pacific, the Tigers had three 20-win seasons and won more than 65 percent of their game, posting a record of 72-38. Prior to Pacific, he was at USF from 1999-2001. The Dons went 31-27 in his two years with the program.

After a standout career at Villanova University, Byrd played professional basketball in the Atlantic Basketball Association and in Switzerland. He began his coaching career as an assistant coach at his alma mater, St. Joseph Notre Dame High School in 1996. Calvin was a McDonald's All-American in 1989 at St. Joseph's. After two years at the high school level, Byrd moved on to his first NCAA Division I coaching job, at UC Irvine during the 1998-99 season.

Making his return to Loyola Marymount University for his first season as an assistant coach for the men's basketball program is Steve Wachs. After six seasons as the top assistant at Cal Poly Pomona, Wachs returns to LMU after graduating in 1996 with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. Wachs has been a part of six straight winning seasons for the Broncos, including three consecutive 20-win seasons and appearances in the NCAA Tournament. Last year, Wachs helped Cal Poly Pomona to one of the most successful seasons in school history as they advanced to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight with a 24-7 record. The past five season with Wachs on the staff, Cal Poly posted a record of 103-40 (.720).

Prior to his six years at Col Poly Pomona, Wachs earned his Master of Social Work from the University of Southern California in 1998. He has an emphasis in community organization, planning and administration. During his four years at LMU, he served as the men's basketball team's administrative assistant (1996-97) and as team manager (1992-96). He assisted the Lions in scouting opponents, coordinated the summer camps and film exchange program. His tenure was spent with coach John Olive.

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