UALR head coach Steve Shields readies for the 2006-07 season looking to return the Trojans to the form which saw them capture back-to-back Sun Belt Conference East Division titles in each of his first two years.

After going 18-10 with the second-best RPI finish in school history (64) in 2004-05, the Trojans had to replace all five starters for the 2005-06 season. Despite the team's relative inexperience, UALR managed to get off to a fine start last season, opening the year with an 11-7 record, including a 4-2 mark in league play.

The Trojans closed out the regular season with a 13-14 record, but pulled things together in the opening round of the Sun Belt Tournament to down North Texas, 72-55, before falling to eventual champion South Alabama in the next round.

Despite the 14-15 finish, the 2005-06 season had its high marks, as junior Rashad Jones-Jennings ended the year ranked third nationally in rebounds per game at 11.3 and was named Third Team All-Sun Belt Conference.

The Trojans played in five televised games last season, including contests against No. 11 Illinois and No. 13 Michigan State, with the Spartans pulling out a narrow 72-67 victory. Last year's bouts with the Illini and MSU marked the second-straight year the Trojans faced two Final Four teams from the previous season's NCAA Tournament.

Shields, the 2004 Sun Belt Coach of the Year, enters his fourth season with a 49-37 overall record (.570 winning percentage) and a 24-18 mark in league play. Under Shields' guidance, the Trojans have enjoyed a .791 winning percentage on their home floor (34-9), including a 25-3 mark in UALR's final two years at Alltel Arena.

In 2004-05, the Trojans rallied from a 4-4 conference mark to win their final six Sun Belt games and secure their second-straight East Division title. That year's team swept Sun Belt-opponent Western Kentucky for the first time since the 1997-98 season, and scored a significant non-conference win over Southern Illinois on Dec. 7, 2004. SIU went on to earn a No. 7 seed in the 2005 NCAA Tournament and advanced to the second round.

UALR's success in 2004-05 translated into more television coverage, as the Trojans made a school-record eight TV appearances, including playing in the prestigious ESPN Bracket Buster event against Bowling Green.

In Shields' first season at UALR, the Trojans put together a 17-12 record and advanced to the semifinals of the Sun Belt Tournament after capturing his first East Division title.

The accomplishments of Shields and his staff were made even more impressive by the fact that the Trojans did not have any starters back from the previous year's squad. At season's end, Shields was named the Sun Belt Coach of the Year, making him the first coach so honored in his first year leading a Division-I program.

Shields' influence on the Trojans goes beyond the court, as he stresses the importance of education and community involvement to each of his players. Following the 2006 fall semester, Shields will have graduated 90 percent of the players who have exhausted their eligibility under his watch. Outside of the classroom, the UALR players give back to their community by making bi-monthly visits to the Arkansas Children's Hospital, working with the Arkansas Special Olympics, and participating in the Trojans for Education program, among other activities.

Prior to taking over as head coach of the Trojans, Shields spent three years as the top assistant and recruiting coordinator for a UALR program which won 18 games in three-consecutive seasons. Shields was one of the keys in sparking the biggest turnaround in Sun Belt Conference history, taking a UALR team that won just four games the previous year and leading it to an 18-11record in the 2000-01 season.

The Trojans followed that with another 18-11 season, despite losing four seniors and the top three scorers from the previous year, and an 18-12 mark in the 2002-03 season.

Shields came to UALR after a four-year stint as head coach at McLennan Community College in Waco, Texas. At MCC, Shields led the Highlanders to a regional championship in 1997-98 and their first national tournament appearance in 22 years. After that season, Shields was voted the Texas Junior College Coach of the Year by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches and received Region V Coach of the Year honors as well.

During Shields' first year as head coach at McLennan, the Highlanders were co-champions of the North Texas Junior College Athletic Conference.

Previously, Shields had been an assistant at McLennan for three seasons and helped lead the Highlanders to a combined 80-13 record. Twice, MCC was ranked in the top 10 nationally and finished the 1992-93 regular season ranked as the No. 2 team in the country.

Before making the move to collegiate athletics, Shields was the athletic director and head football and basketball coach at his alma mater, Reicher Catholic High School in Waco. His football team claimed a district title after winning just one game the previous season, and Shields led his basketball team to a 23-8 record after the squad won just two games the previous year.

Shields was also a collegiate athlete, beginning at Oklahoma City University, where he sat out his freshman year as a redshirt before transferring to McLennan and playing basketball for a year. He then transferred to Baylor University where he played golf for his father, longtime Baylor coach Gene Shields, and earned All-Southwest Conference honors in 1987. Shields, born March 9, 1965, earned his bachelor of science in education in 1988 and a master's in education in 1992, both at Baylor.

Shields has been married for 17 years to the former Dee Dieterich, an interactive account manager for Stone Ward in Little Rock. They have one son, Hayden Dieterich Shields, born Sept. 17, 2001; and one daughter, Halle Elisabeth Shields, born Sept. 23, 2005.