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SOU names Binney interim coach By Don Hunt For The Tidings Twice retired, Larry Binney is back in the softball saddle. At least temporarily. The former North Medford High coaching legend has been named the interim head coach at Southern Oregon University and is among its applicants for the long haul, SOU athletic director Phil Pifer said Wednesday. Binney, 57, stepped down as the Black Tornado coach in June of last year after leading the program to four state championships, 17 Southern Oregon Conference titles and a record of 471-103-1 over 20 seasons. Binney also retired following the 2000 season but returned in 2002 and collected his final state championship. He retired from teaching last year. The SOU job came open last Friday when James Gravelle resigned. "We felt it was very important to at least name an interim coach so that the current players and recruits know that the program is stable," Pifer said. "And we named Larry because of his reputation and his coaching experience." Pifer said SOU will conduct an official search for a head coach beginning Sunday when it runs advertisements on its Web site and in The Oregonian and Mail Tribune newspapers. Applications will be accepted through July 20, at which time a four-person selection committee will scrutinize them and recommend a coach, preferably by the first of next month, Pifer said. Pifer admitted SOU will likely have trouble finding an applicant with a resume as impressive as Binney's, especially since the position will be part-time and won't include benefits. But Pifer said it is university policy to open up the job and go through the hiring process. "We're a public institution, and we think it's only fair to allow qualified people who are interested in the job to have a chance at submitting an application," Pifer said. Binney has been anything but idle since his last retirement. Among other ventures, he hunted deer and elk in Oregon, fished in Alaska and Mexico, attended both the NCAA basketball Southeast Regional and Final Four and spent a week at baseball spring training in St. Petersburg, Fla. He also visited his son, daughter and grandchildren in California and attended five weddings and an equal number of funerals. "This past year has been a great year - I haven't been bored one bit," said Binney, who was the national high school softball coach of the year in 1998. "I could certainly stay happy being retired." But Binney's greatest passion has been coaching softball, and when the SOU job came open last week, he couldn't help but develop some interest in it. "It would be a new and different challenge," he said. "SOU has had a couple of good seasons. If I got the job, I know I'd put in the time and try to win a national championship." The Raiders, in just their third year as an intercollegiate program, posted a 29-11 record last season and won the Cascade Conference before falling to Simon Fraser in a regional championship game of the NAIA playoffs. SOU finished the season ranked 16th in the NAIA poll. The Raiders return the lion's share of their starting lineup but lost two of their best players - pitcher Brandi Brown and third baseman Angie Chaplin - to graduation. Two of their top recruits are pitchers - North Medford's Keri Sevano and Miranda Gillaspie of Chemeketa Community College. LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -