BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — WKU head men's basketball coach Ray Harper announced Wednesday that David Boyden will return to the Hilltopper bench in 2012-13 after spending one season as an assistant coach at Tennessee Tech. A standout basketball player on the Hill from 2000-03, Boyden previously spent two years as an assistant coach at WKU during the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons.

"I am honored to be back on staff here at WKU, and I am grateful to Coach Harper for giving me this opportunity," Boyden said. "It is a place that I hold near and dear to my heart. I have had the unique experience of being an undergraduate student at WKU, a graduate student, a basketball player, a basketball coach and a fan. Western Kentucky University is a special place, and I cannot wait to help this team get better every day and work towards another Sun Belt Conference championship."

"We are really happy to have David back," Harper said. "WKU is a place that he loves, and he wore the jersey with pride when he played. He was a big part of our successes when he was here as an assistant coach previously, and I know he is extremely excited to help us take this program to the next level. He brings a wealth of coaching experience back to the Hill, and he is an outstanding addition to our staff."

During his first two seasons as an assistant at WKU, Boyden helped the Hilltoppers to back-to-back 20-win seasons, a Sun Belt Conference East Division and Tournament championship and a win in the NCAA Tournament. Boyden worked primarily with the post players at Tennessee Tech in 2011-12 and was instrumental in the Golden Eagles’ 19-14 finish and 9-7 mark in Ohio Valley Conference play.

Boyden lettered on the court at WKU from 2000-03, helping the Hilltoppers win 24 or more games in each of his final three seasons while claiming three-straight Sun Belt Conference East Division and Tournament titles and advancing to the NCAA Tournament for a school record-tying three-straight years.

In six seasons as a player and assistant coach at WKU entering 2012-13, Boyden was a part of 133 wins, five 20-win seasons, four conference championships and four NCAA Tournament trips.

The forward started 123 of his 125 contests played and ranks third all-time in Hilltopper history in career starts. Boyden sits ninth all-time with 3,283 minutes of action in his career. In four years, the Richmond, Va., native scored 1,167 points, which stands 29th on the career WKU list, grabbed 650 rebounds and dished out 130 assists. He also recorded 64 steals and blocked 32 shots.

Boyden was named to the All-Sun Belt Conference Team as a junior after averaging 11.3 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. He was a second-team all-conference selection his senior season after posting averages of 12.4 points and 5.3 rebounds per contest. Boyden was also chosen to the 2003 All-Sun Belt Conference Tournament Team after helping lead WKU to its third-straight title.

After both his first and last seasons, he was presented with the E.A. Diddle Award, which is given annually to the Hilltopper who best displays leadership, character, loyalty, ability and love of his fellow man.

The Hilltoppers finished 24-7 in Boyden’s sophomore campaign of 2000-01, going 14-2 in the conference, and earned the school’s first NCAA Tournament berth in six years. His efforts helped WKU to a 28-4 finish and another Sun Belt East Division and Tournament championship the following winter, when WKU ended the regular season ranked 19th in the Associated Press Top 25 poll. The Hilltoppers went 24-9 in his final season, winning 12-straight games en route to another conference division and tournament title.

After earning his bachelor’s degree from WKU in 2003, Boyden joined former Hilltopper head coach Dennis Felton on the staff at Georgia. He was an administrative assistant during the 2003-04 season before ascending to director of basketball operations in 2004-05. Boyden was then a full-time assistant coach at Eastern Kentucky University for three seasons, helping the Colonels advance to the 2007 NCAA Tournament after claiming the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament championship.

Boyden spent one year at Fork Union Military Academy before coming to WKU, where he averaged nine points and seven rebounds per contest while helping the Blue Devils post a 23-8 record in 1998-99. A graduate of Hermitage (Va.) High School, he was selected all-state honorable mention and all-metro first team as a senior when he recorded averages of 17 points and 12 boards per game as the Panthers finished 24-6 while earning a berth in the state tournament. Boyden started three years at Hermitage, leading the squad in rebounding each season, and he was twice selected the school’s most valuable player.

On March 10, 2009, Boyden was inducted into the Hermitage High School Athletic Hall of Fame, where he was the starting center for the Panthers’ region runner-up team in 1998. He earned all-district, all-region, and all-metro honors during his time at Hermitage.

Boyden earned his master’s degree from WKU in 2011, and he is engaged to WKU Assistant Athletic Director for Marketing and Ticket Sales Lindsay Thomas.