Boyd Retires after 31 Years
After 31 years and 425 victories, Alfred State women's basketball coach Gina Boyd retired this summer.
When reflecting on her time at Alfred State, Coach Boyd is thankful for the relationships she has built while working at the college. "Alfred State has provided me with amazing opportunities for the last 31 years. I have had the pleasure of working with many inspiring colleagues who I know will continue to be part of my life. I am very grateful to have coached so many talented student-athletes, who have made a difference in my life and I treasure the friendships we formed."
Boyd, a star athlete in basketball and softball at Waterloo High School, Cayuga Community College, and SUNY Cortland, came to Alfred State in the early 1990s and was named Coach of the Year six times, was the recipient of the William Havens Award three times, and has been included in the Who's Who Among America's Teachers twice.
She coached four NJCAA All-Americans, three USCAA All-Americans, and countless athletes have earned All-Conference athletic and academic honors during her time leading the basketball program. During the transition to the NCAA, Boyd led the Pioneers to two USCAA National Championship tournament appearances. She finishes her basketball coaching career with a .557 winning percentage (425-338 overall record).
On top of coaching basketball, Boyd was instrumental in many other athletic department activities. She was an assistant athletic director, coordinator of physical education, taught physical education classes, and served as the director of the Summer Sports Festival. She has also mentored countless younger members of the athletic department staff.
Previous duties within the department included serving as the softball coach (led the 1994 team to the NJCAA World Series), serving as the college's first Senior Woman Administrator, and overseeing the Learn to Swim Program for nearly her whole career.
Her impact on Alfred State reached well beyond the athletic department as Boyd has always been involved in committees all across campus from Faculty Senate to search committees to health and wellness and morale committees. Boyd's smile and cheerful personality are well known all around campus.
Athletic Department Welcomes Three New Hires
Taylor Button, Todd Randall, and Krystal Yernye have joined the Alfred State athletic department recently.
Button is the new head women's basketball coach. Button replaced the recently retired Gina Boyd.
Button joins Alfred State after spending the past year as an assistant coach at Alfred University. Button worked with the Saxons with recruitment, practice and game preparation, and skill development. During the COVID shortened 2021 season, Alfred University advanced to the Empire 8 semifinals.
Prior to joining the staff at Alfred University, Button spent four seasons as the head coach for the Haverling High School JV squad with tremendous success. Button has also worked basketball camps at Houghton, Princeton, Penn State, Baptist Bible College, among many others.
Button was a standout basketball student-athlete at Jasper-Troupsburg High School. A four-year varsity letter winner, her teams appeared in the sectional championships every season, with a sectional title in 2009 and a semifinal appearance in the state tournament. She went on to play collegiately at Houghton College but suffered a career-ending injury.
After her injury, Button joined the Highlander coaching staff and served as a student assistant from 2012-16. Button graduated from Houghton in 2016 with a bachelor's degree in Coaching and Communication, with a minor in Sports Ministry.
Randall is the new head softball coach at Alfred State. Randall will lead the Pioneer program after spending the last eight years as the assistant head coach at St. Bonaventure University.
Randall, a former baseball player at SBU, began his coaching career as an assistant coach with the Bonnies. He served in that position from 1990-93 before moving over to the softball diamond. From 1993-96, Randall served as the head coach and oversaw all aspects of the program.
In 1996, Randall was named the head softball coach at the University of Hartford. During his 14 years at Hartford, he tallied 236 career wins, making him the winningest coach in Hartford softball history.
In 2012, Randall returned to St. Bonaventure and has served as the associate head coach for the past nine years. In that role, he worked with the head coach in all aspects of the program.
Randall has extensive camp experience as well. He currently is a coordinator and instructor in the Next Level Softball Camps/Clinics.
Yernye is the new Assistant Athletic Director for Athletic Communications at Alfred State.
Yernye joins Alfred State after spending nearly two years at Hamilton College as the Assistant Sports Information Director. While at Hamilton, she assisted in the day-to-day operations of the communications department for all 29 teams. She led the development of the new athletics website that transitioned from Presto Sports to Sidearm. Yernye's creativity heavily influenced their social media platforms where they have seen an increase in followers, likes and shares. She is an active member of CoSIDA and serves on both their convention planning committee and professional development and continuing education program.
Yernye spent two years at Plattsburgh State and spent from 2014 to 2017 at Georgia Southwestern. She also has worked in the athletic departments at D’Youville and Daemen.
Yernye ran cross county and indoor and outdoor track at Plattsburgh State. She served as the vice president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) in addition to captaining the cross country and track & field teams during her junior and senior seasons. She earned her bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism and marketing in 2010 before earning her master's degree in sport administration from Canisius College in 2013.