It is a new day for Union women’s basketball as Jordan Sweeney takes over as head coach, Executive Director of Athletics Tim Curry announced.
“I am extremely excited to add Jordan to our athletic family at Union College as our head women’s basketball coach,” said Curry. “Jordan has proven his ability to lead a successful NAIA basketball program, and I look forward to watching as he joins our department and looks to build upon the long-standing success of our women’s basketball program.”
The Bulldogs are coming off back-to-back appearances in the NAIA National Championship Tournament, going 41-13 during that stretch. Union won the 2020 Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Tournament and boasted the program’s first-ever NAIA All-American First Team member.
Sweeney spent the past five-plus season as the head women’s basketball coach for the University of Michigan-Dearborn. During his final two seasons on the court, Sweeney led the Wolverines to the best two seasons in program history.
“It seems like (the program) has a strong tradition, and I am excited to take over a program with such a solid foundation,” Sweeney said about taking the reins of the Bulldogs. “In my last job, I had a ton of fun with it, but it did not have the foundation Union has.”
Sweeney is the ninth head coach in Union women’s basketball history.
Coming to Michigan-Dearborn as an assistant coach for the men’s basketball program in 2015-16, Sweeney took over the women’s team with 12 games remaining that season and guided it to its only two wins of the year. The Wolverines won 16 games over the next two seasons before posting a program-best record of 24-7 in 2018-19. Sweeney followed that by leading Michigan-Dearborn to a 17-14 mark in 2019-20.
Sweeney and the Wolverines did not touch the court in 2020-21 as Michigan-Dearborn opted out of competing in intercollegiate athletics due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Other milestones Sweeney reached while at Michigan-Dearborn include:
- First national ranking in program history (reached No. 20 during the 2018-19 season);
- Developed the program’s first NAIA All-American;
- Had six earn All-Conference Team selections;
- Placed one on the conference’s All-Freshmen Team;
- Had 12 received Academic All-Conference honors;
- Had 11 collected NAIA Scholar-Athlete accolades.
“I want to play up and down. I want the best combination of getting the most possessions and being efficient as possible,” Sweeney said. “You need to find the balance of being upbeat without being out of control.”
In wanting to play an up-and-down style of game, Sweeney shaped Michigan-Dearborn into one of the top defensive teams in the NAIA. The Wolverines ranked fourth in total blocks (158), fifth in blocks per game (5.097), 24th in field goal percentage defense (36.9 percent), 32nd in 3-point field goal percentage defense (28.8 percent) 42nd in scoring defense (64.419), and 47th in total rebounds (1,221). Meanwhile, Michigan-Dearborn was 15th in 3-pointers made (282) and 16th in 3-pointers made per game (9.097).
In addition to his time at Michigan-Dearborn, Sweeney spent the 2014-15 season at NCAA Division II Ferris State University (Mich.) as an assistant coach for the men’s basketball team. Ferris State posted a 23-9 record that season and enjoyed a 15-game winning streak and a win over NCAA Division I Bowling Green State University (Ohio) on its way to the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Tournament championship and an NCAA Division II Tournament berth.
Sweeney is married, and he and his wife, Miranda, are expecting their first child in January.
Union went 15-6 last season and advanced to the NAIA National Championship Tournament.
The Bulldogs open the 2021-22 season on Nov. 6. The full schedule will be released at a later date.
