Darla Kirby
Women's Golf Head Coach/Compliance Coordinator
Phone: 254-295-5046
Email:
dkirby@umhb.edu
Darla Kirby is in her 14th year as head coach of the UMHB women's golf team. She started the Lady Cru program from scratch in the fall of 1996 and quickly turned the UMHB women's program into one of the top small college golf program's in the country. Kirby guided the Lady Crusaders to the NAIA National Tournament in the program's inaugural season and the UMHB women won the NAIA National Tournament in 2000, only the fourth year of the program's existence. The national championship was also the first in the history of the UMHB athletic department and earned Kirby NAIA National Coach of the Year honors. Kirby has coached the Lady Crusaders to a national tournament berth in ten of the 13 years of the program's existence. The UMHB women went to the NAIA National Tournament in each of their first four years and made six straight appearances in the NCAA Division III National Championship before that streak was snapped three years ago. The Lady Cru had a streak of four straight national runner-up finishes snapped in 2006. The UMHB women won seven straight ASC Conference Championships and Kirby was named ASC Women's Golf Coach of the Year in each of those seasons. Kirby has coached 17 All-Americans and 42 All-Conference selections in her tenure at UMHB and won NGCA Region V Coach of the Year honors in both 2004 and in 2001. She also helped coach Holly Glover to NGCA Division III National Player of the Year honors in the spring of 2005.
Darla Kirby came to the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor in January 1996. She graduated from Mary Hardin-Baylor in 1978 with a degree in psychology and sociology. Coach Kirby earned her Master's from Baylor University in the fall of 2001. She served on the NCAA Region V Committee from 2000-2002 and was chair of that committee during the 2001-2002 school year. Kirby also served on the NCAA National Committee from 2002-2006 and was chair of the national committee during the 2005-06 school year. She currently serves on the Division III NGCA Awards Committee and is a ranker for the Golf World/NGCA Coaches National Poll. Kirby serves double duty at the University. Not only is she the women's golf coach, she is also Director of Compliance for Athletics and serves as UMHB's Senior Women's Administrator.
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