St. Edward's University

AUSTIN, Texas - St. Edward's University Athletic Director Debbie Taylor announced the hiring of Andre Cook as Head Basketball Coach on Wednesday. Cook comes to St. Edward's after serving as head basketball coach at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, N.Y. from 2004-2009.

"We are thrilled to announce Andre Cook as our new men's basketball coach at St. Edward's," said Taylor.  "He is a great fit to continue the winning tradition established by Coach Marks.   "He brings outstanding leadership, coaching skills and a shared sense of the university's core values. Coach Cook understands that having a great program means developing student-athletes on every level personally and academically. His ability to coach, instruct and recruit will allow us to continue toward our goal to compete at the top of the Heartland Conference and at the national level. We look forward to a long and successful association with him." 

Cook compiled an overall record at Hudson Valley of 119-40 (.748). In each of his last two seasons he led the Vikings to school records in victories in a season. In 2007-08, Hudson Valley compiled an amazing 30-1 record and was also a perfect 16-0 in conference winning the Mountain Valley for the first time in eight years. As a result of his team's efforts, Cook was named Region III Coach of the Year and BCANY (Basketball Coaches Association of New York) Junior College Coach of the Year. In 2008-09, the Vikings again had a perfect conference record and advanced to the NJCAA Division III National Tournament. After winning their opening game, Hudson Valley fell to eventual national champion Richland College.

In addition to his coaching position at Hudson Valley, Cook served as coordinator of the college's intramural program and was an adjunct instructor in the Physical Education department. As a result of his tremendous coaching success, he has served as a guest speaker at various coaching clinics including the Premier Coaches Clinic and the BCANY Clinic.

Prior to Hudson Valley, Cook was the head boy's basketball coach at Hudson Falls High School from 1996-2004. He was 99-76 in eight years as the head coach at Hudson Falls. He took over a program that only won six games in 1996 and led them to improved win totals the following four years. In 2000, Hudson Falls won the Foothills Council for the first time in school history with 19 wins, including a streak of 17 consecutive wins. Cook was named Coach of the Year by the Post-Star following the 1999-2000 season.

Cook also coached the Adirondack Region's Scholastic Basketball Team in the Empire State Games from 2000 to 2003, leading them to a gold medal in his final year.

Cook, who was also the assistant principal at Hudson Falls, received his bachelor's degree in American Studies from Skidmore College in 1994, and completed a Master's degree in Teaching Social Studies from Union College in 1996. While at Union, he also served as an assistant men's basketball coach from 1994 to 1996.

As a high school player, Cook played four years of varsity basketball at Watervliet High School for New York State and Hudson Valley Hall of Fame coach George Mardigan. Cook also played four years at Skidmore College. Cook is in the top ten in scoring at Watervliet and Skidmore, amassing over 1,000 points at both places.

"I am definitely excited to join the St. Edward's Community" Cook said. "When visiting the university, I saw what a quality place St. Edward's is. I appreciate Debbie Taylor and the search committee for giving me the opportunity to coach at such a great institution."

The St. Edward's Athletic Department had another successful year winning five Heartland Conference Championships. In the past three years, the Hilltoppers have captured 19 Heartland Conference titles. The St. Edward's Athletic Department produced 133 all-conference performers and tallied a 3.18 GPA during the 2008-09 academic year.