 After three years in Eugene, Collier joined the staff of new head coach Mike Montgomery at Stanford University; Montgomery was previously the head coach for eight seasons at Montana in the Big Sky.After #13 Stanford reached the NCAA tournament in 1989, Collier began actively searching for a head coaching position.When he learned his alma mater had an opening, "he submitted a 45-page proposal on how to revive the Butler program to then university president Geoffrey Bannister.