Mike Neighbors steps down as Razorback women’s basketball coach

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — Razorback women’s basketball coach Mike Neighbors has resigned from his position, the athletic department announced on Tuesday.

Neighbors was hired before the 2017-18 season and recently finished his 12th season as a head coach in Division I women’s basketball.

He went 148-114 during his time at Arkansas, leading the Razorbacks to six winning seasons and positioning the Hogs for six postseason appearances.

“As I shared in my introductory press conference on April 4, 2017, the opportunity to coach the Hogs fulfilled a lifelong dream,” Neighbors said. “I also acknowledged that there would be a time when that dream would end, and until then, I pledged to do my best to make my family, my team and my home state of Arkansas proud. One day would have been an honor! Yet, I’ve had the privilege of leading our program for 2,898 days.”

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Before becoming the head coach at Arkansas, Neighbors spent four seasons at the University of Washington.

“I am deeply appreciative of Coach Neighbors and his contributions to the University of Arkansas and our program during the past eight seasons,” Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Hunter Yurachek said in a news release. “There is no questioning his love and passion for this university and this state. After a successful run at the University of Washington, he returned to his home state to take on the challenge of competing in the nation’s most challenging conference. During his tenure, we enjoyed numerous memorable wins and watched some of the best players in the history of our program.

Neighbors led Arkansas to two NCAA Tournament appearances and two trips to the WNIT.

The Razorbacks’ back-to-back NCAA Tournament berths in 2021 and 2022 were the first consecutive trips to the tournament since 2002 and 2003.