Coach With .793 Win % & Appearance in NAIA D-II Title Game Suddenly Resigns

GRAND RAPIDS — Davenport University women’s basketball coach Mark Youngs shocked school officials when he submitted his resignation Tuesday, just six months after leading the Panthers to an appearance in the NAIA Division II national championship game, a DU spokesperson told The Press.

He departed for “personal reasons” according to a two-paragraph release issued by the school.

“We’re shocked and surprised, DU athletic spokesperson Aaron Sagraves said. It is his personal decision to resign and we’ll respect his privacy on this matter. It’s a loss to have someone of that experience not on the sidelines anymore. We wish Mark well in his future endeavors.”

Youngs, 34, transformed the DU program into a national power during the past decade. He compiled a record 238-62 (.793) from 2002-11.

He guided the Panthers to five consecutive Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference titles from 2005-06 through 2010-11 and earned WHAC Coach of the Year honors three times (2006, ’10 and ’11). He was named Russell Athletic Midwest Regional Coach of the Year in 2009 and recognized as the top women’s coach in the state, regardless of level, by the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan in 2010.

Youngs, who was hired at age 24, was one of the first two coaches DU brought in to restart its athletic department in 2002-03.

He could not be reached for comment.

Kelly Wandel, an assistant coach under Youngs for the past five seasons, takes over the women’s basketball team on an interim basis. The school is launching a national search to find Youngs’ replacement, Sagraves said.

Wandel, a 2004 Grand Valley State University graduate, played four years of basketball for the Lakers. She is an admissions representative at Davenport.

The DU women’s basketball team is set to begin preseason practice in early October.

Coach With .793 Win % & Appearance in NAIA D-II Title Game Suddenly Resigns

The Grand Rapids Press, Brian VanOchten

http://www.mlive.com/smallcolleges/grandrapids/index.ssf/2011/09/davenport_university_shocked_a.html

GRAND RAPIDS — Davenport University women’s basketball coach Mark Youngs shocked school officials when he submitted his resignation Tuesday, just six months after leading the Panthers to an appearance in the NAIA Division II national championship game, a DU spokesperson told The Press.

He departed for “personal reasons” according to a two-paragraph release issued by the school.

“We’re shocked and surprised, DU athletic spokesperson Aaron Sagraves said. It is his personal decision to resign and we’ll respect his privacy on this matter. It’s a loss to have someone of that experience not on the sidelines anymore. We wish Mark well in his future endeavors.”

Youngs, 34, transformed the DU program into a national power during the past decade. He compiled a record 238-62 (.793) from 2002-11.

He guided the Panthers to five consecutive Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference titles from 2005-06 through 2010-11 and earned WHAC Coach of the Year honors three times (2006, ’10 and ’11). He was named Russell Athletic Midwest Regional Coach of the Year in 2009 and recognized as the top women’s coach in the state, regardless of level, by the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan in 2010.

Youngs, who was hired at age 24, was one of the first two coaches DU brought in to restart its athletic department in 2002-03.

He could not be reached for comment.

Kelly Wandel, an assistant coach under Youngs for the past five seasons, takes over the women’s basketball team on an interim basis. The school is launching a national search to find Youngs’ replacement, Sagraves said.

Wandel, a 2004 Grand Valley State University graduate, played four years of basketball for the Lakers. She is an admissions representative at Davenport.

The DU women’s basketball team is set to begin preseason practice in early October.