Men's Assistant Austin Parkinson Named Women's Head Coach

The official release from IUPUIJags.com


INDIANAPOLIS - The IUPUI Athletics Department has announced that Austin Parkinson has been named Head Women’s Basketball Coach, effective immediately. Parkinson has served the past two years as an assistant coach on Ron Hunter’s men’s coaching staff, helping the Jaguars to a 41-25 mark since 2008.

The 29-year old Parkinson becomes the ninth head coach in the program’s 35-year history.

"I feel very blessed to have this opportunity," Parkinson said. "This is a tremendous university, a great city and a program with loads of potential.

"The focus of our program will be on developing the girls into the best basketball players they can be, but more importantly, to develop them into young women that are prepared for success in life after basketball."

"We are committed to providing a positive experience for our student-athletes, both on and off the court," IUPUI Athletics Director Mike Moore said. "Austin comes from great basketball pedigree and knows the state of Indiana exceptionally well. I think he’s a great fit for our program and will work incredibly hard to better our women’s basketball program. He’s seen a first-rate basketball program up close and personal from his days at Purdue and I’m confident that he’s the right person to lead our program."

"Priority number one in recruiting is to build the relationships with players and coaches across the state of Indiana," Parkinson added. "There’s an abundance of talent throughout the Midwest and I look forward to the opportunity to recruit some of those individuals to IUPUI."

Prior to coming to IUPUI, Parkinson’s coaching experience includes a one-year stint as the Director of Basketball Operations at IPFW in 2007-08 and a two-year stretch as a Graduate Assistant at the University of Indianapolis from 2005-07. He began his coaching career at Purdue as a Student Assistant in 2004-05.

Parkinson was a four-year letterwinner at Purdue for legendary Head Coach Gene Keady. He closed his career tied for tenth on the Boilermakers’ all-time assist list after leading the squad in that category in both his sophomore and seniors seasons. Additionally, he led the Big Ten in assist-to-turnover ratio in each of his final three seasons. He received both his B.S. (‘04) and Masters (‘06) from Purdue in Organizational Leadership and Supervision.

The Kokomo, Ind.-native comes from impressive basketball pedigree as his father, Bruce, is Purdue’s all-time assist leader and a member of the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame. His grandfather, Jack, played for the legendary Adolph Rupp at Kentucky and is a member of the Indiana and Kentucky Basketball Halls of Fame.

IUPUI will open the 2010-11 slate on Nov. 8 when the Jaguars host Indiana Tech in The Jungle in exhibition action. The 2010 season opener is scheduled against Wright State on Nov. 12.