Corban University Vice President of Student Life Brian Jaworski has announced that women’s basketball head coach Bill Pilgeram will be stepping down as the program leader to better provide his full attention on the Director of Athletics role he accepted within the department in the spring of 2023. With Pilgeram at the helm of the committee, the women’s basketball program will embark on a nationwide search to replace the vacancy he leaves behind after serving as the head coach for the previous six seasons.
“I am pleased to announce that Bill will be moving into a full-time Director of Athletics position effective immediately,” shared Jaworski. “Bill came to Corban in 2018 with over 20 years of experience coaching high school basketball and now retires from coaching as one of the winningest coaches in Warrior Women’s Basketball history. Through balancing both roles last year in tremendous fashion, we found the needs of the athletic department demanded a full-time role. And just like he was the right person for the role last year, he is the right person for the role this year. I look forward to working alongside Bill to ensure that everything we do through our athletic department is both Christ-centered and mission-centered.”
When asked to describe his time as the Corban women’s basketball head coach, Pilgeram stated, “I have been blessed to coach the women that God has placed in our program since my arrival, and it has been a fantastic experience that I will always cherish. I will miss that relationship tremendously, while still remaining very confident in this team’s ability to continue excelling both on and off the court.”
Pilgeram concludes his collegiate coaching career with a 75-90 overall record with the Warriors for a career winning percentage over 45%,good for fourth all-time among Corban women’s basketball head coaches. In his inaugural season with the Navy and Gold, the Warriors finished 26-10 overall, featuring an NAIA National Tournament run that ended in the round of 16 at the final site. In the six seasons he coached at Corban, his team qualified for the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) Tournament four separate times and reached the championship contest on one occasion. His teams have had multiple NAIA Coaches’ Top 25 Poll appearances, climbing as high as No. 14-overall in the entire country to represent the second-highest ranking in program history.
During Pilgeram’s six-year stint as the Warriors’ head coach, he saw his student-athletes come through his program and earn 52 Academic All-Conference accolades in total, including a program-best 13 from this past 2023-24 season. He’s coached six different Academic All-District award winners in his head coaching career, along with a pair of All-Americans and eleven All-Conference players. Since the 2018-19 season, the women’s basketball team has graduated 22 student-athletes, who have all gone on to serve in both the Corban fellowship and at-large communities.
“Corban University is an amazing place, and I have absolutely fallen in love with Warrior Nation,” Pilgeram began with when asked to detail his expectations as the now full-time Director of Athletics. “This opportunity allows me to five my full attention to the entire athletic department without the demands associated with coaching this incredible program. I am grateful to President Yeats and Brian for their confidence in me to fill this role within the university in educating Christian’s to make a difference in the world for Jesus Christ.”
Tagged with: NAIA
