Fresh off a 20-win season and TCU's first postseason tournament appearance since 1999, Neil Dougherty embarks on his fourth season at the helm of the Horned Frogs men's basketball team in 2005-06.

Last season, the Frogs made a late-March run all the way to the NIT quarterfinals despite playing all three games on the road. TCU battled to wins at Miami (Ohio) and Western Michigan before falling in a hard-fought game at Maryland 85-73. When it was all over, the Frogs came out with a 21-14 record--the 10the 20-win season in school history and the most wins for the program since 1998-99.

Dougherty, who was hired on March 25, 2002, as TCU's 18th head coach, owns an overall record of 42-50 over three seasons. After a 9-19 season in his first year, Dougherty and the Frogs have bounced back to go 33-31 over the last two campaigns. As a member of Conference USA, a league that saw 17 teams gain postseason berths in those two years, TCU was able to muster a 15-17 conference record.

In 2004-05, the Frogs reached the second round of the Conference USA Tournament for the second straight year after accumulating an 8-8 conference record-the best since TCU joined C-USA. Dougherty and the Frogs edged out Marquette in the opening round before falling to NCAA final four participant Louisville. During the regular season, TCU recorded key victories over NCAA Tournament-bound Texas Tech and UAB, picked up two wins over NIT-bound Marquette and also upended NIT Final Four squad Memphis on the road. TCU's NIT march marked only the third time the Fogs reached the tournament quarterfinals in school history.

The success in 2004-05 was built off of the achievements of the 2003-04 squad, which went 7-9 in Conference USA, one of just four leagues in the nation to receive six bids to the 2004 NCAA Tournament. In addition, TCU more than doubled its league win total from the previous season, recorded the program's first victory over a top-10 team since 1990 and grabbed its first conference tournament win since 2000 when the team bounced Marquette from the C-USA Tournament. That final Frog victory was also the 1,000th win in school history and was the second in a four-game winning streak over the tradition-rich Golden Eagles.

In his first season with the Frogs, Dougherty instilled a new system that stressed teamwork, accountability and toughness. He showed the Frog faithful what kind of playing style and effort to expect from a TCU team.

Dougherty's plan for success, determination and style of play have re-energized the Horned Frogs' fan base. Under his watch, TCU set an all-time arena attendance record when 7,267 fans crammed into Daniel-Meyer Coliseum to watch the Horned Frogs play the top-ranked Kansas Jayhawks on Dec. 1, 2003. In the first-ever visit to DMC by a No. 1 team, the Horned Frogs trailed at halftime by just one point, 39-38, to a team that ultimately advanced to the NCAA Tournament's Elite Eight.

There is no debating that TCU's strength of schedule has drastically improved since his arrival in Fort Worth. In fact, of Dougherty's 92 games at the helm of the program, 14 have been against top-25 teams. To compare, the Horned Frogs played just seven nationally ranked teams from the 1998-99 season through the 2001-02 campaign, a span of 124 games, and played just 19 ranked teams during the entire decade of the 1990s, which included 303 contests.

TCU's 2004-05 schedule featured eight games against teams that reached the NCAA Tournament and 11 against NIT teams, meaning that the squad played 19 of its 35 games versus opponents that reached the 2005 postseason.

Another tangible sign of Dougherty's impact on TCU basketball is the $6 million Ed & Rae Schollmaier Basketball Complex, the newest Horned Frog athletics facility. The 22,000-square-foot complex, which sits southeast of Daniel-Meyer Coliseum, features office space for the men's basketball staff, two NCAA regulation practice courts, a meeting room, a weight room, a lobby and a courtyard. It was completed in March of 2004, and stands as a model of the university's strong commitment to basketball and Coach Dougherty.

TCU has also made its presence known on national television during the Dougherty era. The Frogs' statement game came in February of 2004 in front of an ESPN2 audience as part of "Super Tuesday" action, as TCU recorded a monumental 71-46 victory over 10th-ranked Louisville. It was just the fifth win over a top-10 team ever enjoyed by the TCU program. In the contest, TCU held the Cardinals to just 46 points, the lowest output by a Rick Pitino-coached team since his Boston University squad was defeated 48-46 by Canisius in 1982. Since Dougherty took the reins, the Frogs have made 18 appearances on the ESPN network family, including eight in 2004-05, and have made numerous appearances locally.

As the TCU head coach, Dougherty has accomplished much on the recruiting trail as well, blazing a path through Texas high schools and junior colleges and building relationships with coaches and student-athletes. His current roster boasts 12 players from the Lone Star State, an area flourishing with top-notch basketball talent. Of the 15 players that the Horned Frogs have signed since Dougherty's arrival, 12 hail from Texas.

After finding ways to compete with nationally-recognized teams, increase fan interest, upgrade the schedule, build a basketball facility, gain national exposure and recruit in-state players, Dougherty now has another challenge: leading the Horned Frogs into its first season in the Mountain West Conference, an established league known for its size and all-around talent.

A longtime assistant coach, Dougherty had been looking for the right head coaching position for several years prior to 2002. When the TCU job came open following the 2001-02 season, the young coach knew he had discovered the right fit. And in March of 2002, TCU announced that it, too, had found the perfect match.

Prior to coming to TCU, Dougherty, now 44, spent the previous seven seasons at the University of Kansas working as an assistant coach under coaching legend Roy Williams. A recruiting guru, Dougherty helped KU sign eight McDonald's All-Americans during his tenure. He was also responsible for scouting coordination and assisting with supervision of the academic progress of the Jayhawk players.

During Dougherty's seven years on the Kansas staff, KU averaged nearly 30 victories per season and won four Big 12 Conference championships. The 2001-02 Jayhawks captured the NCAA Midwest Regional title and advanced to the Final Four where they were defeated by the eventual champion Maryland Terrapins. Kansas reached the NCAA Tournament every season during his time in Lawrence. The 1996-97 squad spent much of the campaign rated No. 1 in the nation and finished the season with a 35-2 overall mark.

Seven of Dougherty's former Jayhawk players are currently in the NBA: Nick Collison (Seattle), Drew Gooden (Cleveland), Kirk Hinrich (Chicago), Raef LaFrentz (Boston), Paul Pierce (Boston), Scot Pollard (Indiana) and Jacque Vaughn (Atlanta). In addition, Wayne Simien will join the league in 2005.

Dougherty arrived in his home state of Kansas after serving two stints under Eddie Fogler at Vanderbilt and South Carolina. He worked four years as an assistant with the Commodores (1989-93) before spending two seasons in a similar capacity with the Gamecocks (1993-95). Vanderbilt advanced to the NCAA Tournament twice during his time in Nashville (1991 and 1993). The 1993 Southeastern Conference champions ultimately reached the Sweet Sixteen. The 1990 and 1992 Commodore squads reached the NIT, and the 1990 team took home the tournament championship.

Before his four-year stay at Vanderbilt, Dougherty worked as an assistant coach at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, during the 1988-89 campaign. There, he became acquainted with Fogler through Drake's competition with Fogler's Wichita State team in the Missouri Valley Conference.

Prior to his year at Drake, Dougherty coached four seasons at his alma mater, Cameron University (1984-88). The Aggies posted a 44-20 record in his final two years in Lawton, Okla.

Dougherty was born in Leavenworth, Kan., on April 14, 1961, and was a standout athlete at Leavenworth High School. He was an all-state guard as a high school senior and also earned honorable mention All-America status. The Leavenworth High basketball team enjoyed tremendous success during Dougherty's years, including a state championship appearance his junior season in the spring of 1978. In that tournament, Leavenworth lost to Selina South, but Dougherty hit 16 field goals, a Class 4A record that still stands today.

Following graduation, Dougherty attended the United States Military Academy in West Point, N.Y. At Army, he was recruited by and played one year for Mike Krzyzewski, now the legendary head coach at Duke. Dougherty played several games as a freshman and was a part-time starter as a sophomore under coach Pete Gaudet.

Dougherty transferred to Cameron University for his final two collegiate seasons. He started at point guard as a junior and senior, helping the team to a combined 34 wins in two seasons. Dougherty graduated with a bachelor's degree in education from Cameron in 1984 and earned his master's degree in education at the University of Oklahoma in 1987.

Dougherty and his wife, Patti, have three children: a daughter, Megan, and sons, Neil Patrick and Ryan. Neil Patrick is a junior guard on the TCU basketball team.