April 6, 2012
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Jonathan Tsipis, a nine-year veteran on the women’s basketball staff at the University of Notre Dame, including the Fighting Irish associate head coach for the past four seasons, has been named the new head coach at George Washington University. Tsipis was introduced at a press conference Friday afternoon on the GW campus in Washington, D.C. He replaces Mike Bozeman, who was released on March 5.
Tsipis, 39, joined the Notre Dame staff in May 2003 after spending one season as director of men’s basketball operations at UNC Greensboro under former Fighting Irish men’s basketball assistant/then-Spartans’ head coach (and current Iowa boss) Fran McCaffery. Prior to his stint at UNCG, Tsipis previously had spent a total of seven seasons in various roles on men’s basketball coaching staffs at Duke (1995-96), Cornell (1996-99), LeMoyne (1999-2000) and Elon (2000-02).
During his time at Notre Dame, Tsipis coached the Fighting Irish wing players, assisted with the coordination of Notre Dame’s recruiting and scouting efforts, and aided in practice planning and the day-to-day operations of the office. His nine-year stint with the Fighting Irish produced a sparkling 228-77 (.748) record, averaging better than 25 victories per season, including nearly 27 wins annually in the past five years. Notre Dame also qualified for the NCAA Championship in each of his nine seasons under the Golden Dome, making five trips to the Sweet 16 (2004, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012), and appearances in the past two NCAA national championship games (2011, 2012).
Tsipis’ efforts also helped the Fighting Irish land nine consecutive top-20 recruiting classes from 2004-12, including the ’11-12 freshman corps that was ranked as high as ninth in the nation, and next year’s rookie class, which is ranked No. 4 in the land by ESPN Hoopgurlz. In addition, Tsipis was named one of five recipients of the 2008-09 BasketballScoop.com Coach of the Year honor, as well as one of the top 10 active assistant coaches in the country by CollegeInsider.com in October 2011.
One of the most gifted young coaches in the game today, Tsipis has been responsible for building the game plans in nearly three dozen of Notre Dame’s wins over ranked opponents during his nine seasons at Notre Dame. Included in that exceptional run are six victories against Connecticut (two in the NCAA Women’s Final Four) — the most by any team against the Huskies in that span — as well as five wins over in-state rival Purdue (the longest Fighting Irish winning streak in the series with the Boilermakers), three victories over Oklahoma (two in the NCAA Championship), and two wins each against Duke, Vanderbilt and Michigan State.
Tsipis’ reputation for player development also has been exemplary, with the Cleveland, Ohio, native having tutored four All-Americans, four all-BIG EAST Conference selections and two WNBA Draft picks (not including 2011 BIG EAST Most Improved Player and two-time honorable mention All-American Natalie Novosel, who could be chosen in this year’s WNBA Draft, scheduled for April 16 in Bristol, Conn.).
“Jonathan is an exceptionally hard-working and dedicated coach who brought a great deal of positive energy during his nine seasons at Notre Dame,” said Notre Dame’s Hall of Fame head coach Muffet McGraw. “He is a very strong X’s-and-O’s coach and someone who has built a great network of contacts throughout the college basketball world. I’m grateful for all he has done for our program and will be eagerly following his teams at George Washington, where I expect he will have great success.”
Tsipis becomes the sixth former McGraw assistant to currently hold an NCAA Division I head coaching position. The others are Sandy Botham (Wisconsin-Milwaukee), Beth (Morgan) Cunningham (VCU), Bill Fennelly (Iowa State), Kevin McGuff (Washington) and Coquese Washington (Penn State). A total of 14 former McGraw players and/or assistants are now in the coaching ranks at either the high school or college level.
A nationwide search will begin immediately to identify Tsipis’ replacement.
— ND —