Butler hires Austin Parkinson as women’s basketball coach
IUPUI coach Austin Parkinson talks to a referee during the second half of the team’s first-round game against Oklahoma at the NCAA Women’s College Basketball Tournament on Saturday, March 19, 2022 in Norman, Okla. (AP Photo/Mitch Alcala)
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INDIANAPOLIS
Butler hired Austin Parkinson as the new women’s basketball coach on Friday, ending a search that lasted just over two weeks.
Parkinson won’t even have to leave town. The IUPUI campus is only a few miles from Butler’s Hinkle Fieldhouse.
He replaces Kurt Godlevske, who was fired by director Barry Collier on March 22 after two of the worst seasons in Bulldogs history. Butler went 1-27 last season.
“Austin has distinguished himself from a strong pool of applicants with his experience building a championship-caliber program at IUPUI and his vision for how Butler will achieve similar success in the Greater East,” said Collier.
Parkinson, a former Purdue star, quit IUPUI’s men’s staff in September 2010 to take over the scandal-tinged women’s programme. Over the next 12 seasons, the program went 224-141 and became a Horizon League powerhouse.
He has posted eight 20-win seasons, including a 24-5 mark last season when the Jaguars captured their second league tournament title in three years and made the first NCAA tournament appearance in league history. school.
“Everything is in place at Butler for our program to make some noise in the Great East and I’m grateful for the opportunity to lead the Bulldogs,” Parkinson said.
IUPUI Chancellor Andrew Klein said the search for a replacement for Parkinson’s disease would begin immediately.
This is Butler’s second hire this week. Collier named Thad Matta as men’s basketball coach on Sunday.
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More AP Women’s College Basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
