UAF Women’s Basketball Coach Resigns

Submitted by Carla Browning
Phone: (907) 474-7778
03/28/03

Lady Nanooks basketball head coach Jenny Benson announced today that she is leaving the University of Alaska Fairbanks to spend more time being a mom.

UAF Athletics and Recreation Director Dr. Cory Schwartz said, "Coach Benson’s contributions to the development and success of the women’s basketball program has been tremendous."

Benson took over a struggling program and in the sixth season turned the team into a winner that went onto a third-place tie in the PacWest Conference and a post-season appearance, and first-round win in the 2001 NCAA Division II tournament. Benson was the leader organizing the Mt. McKinley Bank North Star Invitational Tournament which has become a premier Division I women’s pre-season

"I’ve been fortunate to recruit and coach outstanding and talented players at UAF," Benson said. "Bringing Division I women’s basketball to Fairbanks with the Mt. McKinley Bank North Star Invitational is a highlight of my career", she said.

Benson is a 1988 UAF graduate. She graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and earned a master’s degree in athletic administration from the University of Iowa in 1992 on a NCAA post-graduate scholarship. After a two-year stint as a coaching apprentice to the highly regarded C. Vivian Stringer at the University of Iowa, Benson returned to coach at her alma mater, UAF.

Schwartz said a national search for a women’s basketball coach will begin immediately.

CONTACT: UAF Athletics and Recreation Director Cory Schwartz, 907-474-7780.