RICHMOND, Ky. – Allie Turley has joined the Eastern Kentucky University women’s basketball staff, head coach Chrissy Roberts announced today. Turley will serve as the team’s Director of Basketball Operations. Turley, a 2004 graduate of EKU, spent the past two seasons as the head boys’ basketball coach at Brandon High School in Brandon, Fla.

“I am very excited about Allie joining my staff,” Roberts said. “He is extremely ambitious and brings a vast array of experiences to our Lady Colonel program. In addition, as a fellow EKU alum, Allie takes a great deal pride in everything he does and the Eastern Kentucky community as a whole. Allie is a quality individual who will be a great asset to our Lady Colonel Family.”

The Marion, Ky., native led Brandon High to the class 6A regional quarterfinals last season. Before taking over as the head coach, Turley spent three seasons (2005-08) as the associate head coach for the school. He helped the team capture the 2008 region championship and advance to the class 5A final four in 2008. The team finished with a 24-5 record and ranked No. 3 in the state in the final 5A poll.

As a student at Eastern Kentucky, Turley served as an administrative assistant and camp instructor for the men’s basketball team from 2001 to 2003. He began his collegiate career as a member of the men’s basketball team at Southeastern Illinois College. After playing for two seasons (1998-00), Turley served as an assistant coach for the 2000-01 campaign. He helped Southeastern to a 26-4 record that season. The team climbed to as high as No. 5 in the NJCAA Division I poll and averaged 121 points per game through the first 11 games of the season.

Turley earned an associate’s degree in biology and chemistry from Southeastern Illinois and a bachelor’s degree in biology at EKU. In 2010 he completed work on a master’s in sports leadership from Duquesne University.

In 2009-10, Eastern Kentucky (12-17, 8-10 OVC) doubled its number of conference victories and returned to the Ohio Valley Conference tournament in the second year under Roberts. Despite being picked to finish ninth in the OVC preseason poll, the Lady Colonels tied for fourth place in the conference standings.