Knox College invites applications for the full-time position of Head Women’s Basketball Coach. This is a 12-month, benefits eligible position reporting to the Director of Athletics. Anticipated start date is August 2021. The successful candidate will have a focus on supporting student-athlete success and well being as well as developing a competitive NCAA Division III program.

Knox College provides a competitive salary and a strong benefit package including health, dental, vision and life insurance; access to a retirement plan; a generous paid vacation and holiday package; free membership to our recreation center; and more! Tuition remission is also available after a two-year waiting period.

Knox College, a member of the Midwest Conference and NCAA Division III, is a vibrant community of scholar-teachers and students with a tradition of free inquiry, independent thought, and diverse perspectives. Women’s basketball at Knox College officially began during the 1973-74 season, but the seeds were planted well before that. A women’s club team played against local teams in 1896. A 1920 graduate of Knox, Florence Meridian, a member of the Knox-Lombard Athletic Hall of Fame, played and coached women’s basketball as far back as the late 1910’s. The team was among the founding members of the Midwest Athletic Conference for Women (MACW) during the 1978-79 season. The Midwest Collegiate Athletic Conference (MCAC) and the MACW merged in 1994 to become the current Midwest Conference (MWC). In the late 1980’s, the women’s basketball team made the MWC tournament three years in a row, a level of play that would not be matched until the team returned to the tournament in two of the last three full seasons. Over the last five seasons the Prairie Fire have accumulated a 59-43 overall record, including a 40-28 mark in conference play. They made the MWC tournament in 2017-18 and 2019-20. During the 19-20 season, the team won eight of their last ten league games to secure their spot in the tournament field.

Knox College is one of the 50 most diverse campuses in America and prides itself on its historic commitment to increase access to all qualified students of varied backgrounds, races, and conditions, regardless of financial means.

U.S. News and World Report included Knox as one of its “Best Value Schools” in its 2021 rankings, listing it as #20 among national liberal arts colleges, recognizing academic quality and the price that students pay after receiving need-based scholarships or grants. Knox is also regularly recognized for this historic and transformative mission; Knox has been included in every edition of Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About Colleges since the groundbreaking book was first published in 1996. Washington Monthly ranks Knox #40 in the nation for its commitment to the public good, and  Forbes regularly includes Knox on its Grateful Grads Index, which rates the top 200 colleges and universities for the success of graduates and the number of alumni that financially support their alma mater.

Knox athletes are student-athletes with a focus on achievement in the classroom, on the court or playing field, and as community leaders. Institutional support for enhancing intercollegiate athletics is strong and the K Club booster organization has been very active in recent years with a significant upward trajectory both in engagement and dollars raised the past three years. Gift to the K Club made possible a state-of-the-art golf performance center and converted the College’s grass soccer field to a high-grade synthetic turf. More recently, the athletics department has increased its social media presence, facilitated increased branding of the Prairie Fire facilities, completed a website redesign to capitalize on the department’s increased online audience, and installed a new state-of-the-art video scoreboard at Prats Field as well as new scoreboards at Blodgett Baseball Field and the Knox Softball Field.

A full prospectus for this position is available at https://www.knox.edu/womensbballcoach.

Responsibilities

The Head Coach is responsible for all aspects of the Knox College Women’s Basketball Program including but not limited to: executing a successful recruiting and retention plan; integrating the program into the campus community; scheduling, planning, and supervising practices and contests; team travel; managing the program operating budget; developing cultural competence within the women’s basketball program; fully supporting Knox College and Prairie Fire athletics department diversity and inclusion initiatives; fundraising; administering all aspects of the program ensuring compliance with departmental, institutional, Midwest Conference (MWC), and NCAA rules and regulations; participating in alumni and booster engagement, including promotion of program on social media platforms; and additional coaching and administrative duties as assigned. The Head Coach must develop a competitive program within the MWC with the goal of postseason participation. The Head Coach must also provide support and encouragement and ensure the safety and well-being of the student-athletes.

This position will supervise one full-time, benefits-eligible, salaried exempt assistant coach, as well as student manager(s), student worker(s), and volunteer assistant coach(es). In addition, this position will have duties assigned to assist with game operations (soccer) and will have the responsibility to teach one sports studies course (coaching of basketball) in the fall term.  Additionally, this position has the opportunity, if desired, to serve as the associate director of club sports and assist the Assistant AD for Club Sports & Intramurals, with the administration of the College’s club sports programs.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree from a four-year college or university

• 4 or more years collegiate basketball coaching experience OR 6 or more years of demonstrated success as a high school head coach with an articulated understanding of NCAA Division III recruiting

• Evidence of the ability to plan, organize, and administer training strategies for practice and game implementation (such as the design of workouts and long-term training plans)

• Excellent interpersonal and written communication skills

• Ability to work independently and manage multiple tasks and projects

• An appreciation for a residential liberal arts education, respect for individual differences, openness to the values and opinions of others, and flexibility to adapt to constant change

Preferred Qualifications:

• 1 or more seasons experience as a head NCAA/NAIA collegiate basketball coach

• 5 or more seasons experience NCAA/NAIA coaching collegiate basketball

• 4 or more seasons NCAA/NAIA recruiting experience

• Experience with recruiting database Front Rush (or similar database)

• Experience hosting collegiate campus basketball camps

• Experience building alumni and fan engagement and fundraising

• Experience with social media and overall promotion of the athletics program

Please follow link below for complete job description and application information.