CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – In the climate of college athletics, whether you look at the current era or decades back, change happens. Coaches come and go and staff turnover happens every season. After a championship season? Most people would not bat an eye if there was an entirely new staff on the sideline the next season.

Then there is Austin Peay basketball.

Coming off an Atlantic Sun Conference Regular-Season Championship campaign in which a multitude of records were broken, and multiple players continued their careers professionally, head coach Corey Gipson announced his entire staff is coming back to Clarksville ahead of the 2026-27 campaign. From associate head and assistant coaches to the director of basketball operations, video & analytics coordinator, director of player development, graduate assistant-turned director of player personnel, and special assistant to the head coach, everyone has chosen Austin Peay.

But how many other teams did that too? Glad you asked.

According to a nationwide survey, Austin Peay is one of just 20 Division I programs – out of 365 – to retain its entire staff. The Governors also are one of just five teams to have won a conference title in 2025-26 and then retain the staff ahead of the 2026-27 campaign – with Florida, Kennesaw State, Idaho, and Lehigh being the others.

An important piece to this also is realizing most of this staff has been together since Gipson was head coach at Northwestern State during the 2022-23 season. Rodney Hamilton, Tim Ward and Joey Heimel all were on staff under Gipson in Natchitoches, Louisiana, while APSU's current director of player development, Matthew Morgan, was the head student manager at Missouri State where Gipson served as associate head coach.

Going even further back, Daniel Loos – a member of Gipson's inaugural recruiting class at APSU and current special assistant to the head coach – has been around the program essentially since birth, being the grandson of the all-time winningest head coach in program history, and former Austin Peay Athletics Director, Dave Loos. Gipson played for Dave Loos from 2002-04, was a graduate assistant for him in 2004-05, and was an assistant coach on his staff from 2012-15.

Gipson and his staff first made national headlines during the 2022-23 season at Northwestern State. In just their fourth regular-season game, Gipson and his staff guided the Demons to a 64-63 win at No. 15 TCU. Not only was it NSU's first ranked win against an AP Top 25 team since 2006, but it also was the largest upset by RPI standards in college basketball history, as Northwestern State was ranked 330 of 363 entering the contest. They guided the Demons to a 13-win turnaround that season, finishing 22-9 overall while advancing to the Southland Conference Championship game. 

A year later, Gipson and the staff orchestrated the 12th-best turnaround in the NCAA during their first season in Clarksville, as the Govs advanced to the ASUN Championship game behind a 10-win turnaround – the second-best single-season turnaround of the Govs' Division I Era (1963) – while Gipson's 19 wins were tied for the most by a first-year head coach in program history.

The staff's second year saw the addition of former APSU basketball manager, graduate assistant, director of basketball operations and 2008 APSU graduate, Dugan Lyne, as an assistant coach. Lyne was a student manager for the Govs while Gipson was a graduate assistant. Koby Pelissier also joined the staff as a graduate assistant and went on to be promoted to director of basketball operations prior to the 2025-26 season, while Morgan also joined the staff in his current role of director of player development. Loos would then join the staff after two playing seasons in Clarksville, where he was named to his current role of special assistant to the head coach. KJ Lee – who Gipson recruited during his time at Missouri State – also went on to join the staff prior to 2025-26 as a graduate assistant before being promoted to Director of Player Personnel last month.

One of the most memorable seasons in the program's 95-year history, 2025-26 season saw the Govs claim the first ASUN Conference title in program history – the first conference championship since 2016, and the first regular-season title since 2008. APSU eclipsed 20 wins (22) for the 17th time in program history and the first time since 2020, while its 21 regular-season victories were tied for the most since 1977. The program also posted an impressive 12-1 mark inside the confines of F&M Bank Arena, with its 92.3 home winning percentage being the best in facility history. APSU also set FMBA's attendance record three times.

Gipson was named a finalist for both the Ben Jone Award (presented to the top minority head coach in Division I) and the Hugh Durham Award (given to the top mid-major coach in college basketball), both for the second time in his head coaching career.

While accomplishment on the hardwood during the staff's tenure is widely evident, one of the key pillars of the program has been its continued service to the local community. During the staff's second year, after amassing over 2,500 hours of community service program wide, the program earned the Presidential Volunteer Service Award.

In addition to working alongside multiple local businesses, the Governors also have worked alongside and trained with multiple members for Fort Campbell, which includes 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment on 9/11 each of the last two years, even carrying the 160th's motto of "Night Stalkers Don't Quit" into practices and games with "Govs Don't Quit."

With a 100% staff retention and the recent announcement of the highest-ranked recruiting class of any program in Austin Peay Athletics history… there has never been a better time to be a Gov.