April 3, 2008
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics capped off its 2007-08 basketball season by presenting its top coaching award. The Rawlings-NAIA Coach of the Year honors were presented to the four outstanding coaches in four divisions following tremendous tournament runs.
2008 Rawlings-NAIA Coach of the Year honors went to Oklahoma City's Ray Harper, Oregon Tech's Danny Miles, Vanguard's (Calif.) Russ Davis and Northwestern's (Iowa) Earl Woudstra. Harper in Division I (men), Miles in Division II (men), Davis in Division I (women) and Woudstra in Division II (women).
Ray Harper has reached nine national title games in 12 years as a head coach and has guided Oklahoma City University (OCU) to the national championship title game on three straight occasions (2006, 2007, 2008). In 2008 the Stars took home the championship hardware with a win over Mountain State (W. Va.) 75-72. During the 2007-08 campaign Harper directed the Stars to its third straight Sooner Athletic Conference (SAC) regular-season championship and the second SAC Tournament title in three years. For the third year Harper was named SAC Coach of the Year.
Danny Miles and Oregon Tech University won its 2nd national championship this past season when Oregon Tech defeated Bellevue (Neb.) 63-56. The Owls finished with a 31-6 record. In the last 12 seasons, Miles has led his squads to an overall 335-94 record with ten trips to the NAIA Division II Men's Basketball National Championship. Oregon Tech has the most tournament wins (25-8) of any team in NAIA Division II. In his tenure at Oregon Tech, Miles has guided 13 men's basketball teams to the national tournament.
Russ Davis completed his 12th season as the head coach of the Vanguard women's basketball program with the Lions first-ever NAIA National Championship title. Taking the women's basketball team to its tenth appearance at the NAIA Division I Women's Basketball National Championship event, Davis led the Lions to a 72-59 victory in the championship game against Trevecca Nazarene (Tenn.). Davis ended the 2007-08 campaign with the Phyllis Holmes Coach of the Year honor and earned his 300th collegiate victory with an overall record of 318-82 at Vanguard.
Earl Woudstra in his 14th year at the helm of the Northwestern women's basketball program led the Red Raiders to its second national championship title with a win over College of the Ozarks (Mo.) 82-75. The program ended the season with a 35-2 overall record and senior guard Debbie Remmerde took home tournament MVP honors. 2008 marks the second time for Woudstra to receive the Coach of the Year award.
Rawlings is the presenting sponsor of the Basketball Coach of the Year award in all four divisions and is the official basketball of the NAIA.
Learn more...
Ray Harper | Oklahoma City University
Danny Miles | Oregon Tech University
Russ Davis | Vanguard University
Earl Woudstra | Northwestern College
NAIA
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) is the governing body for athletics programs at its nearly 300 colleges and universities throughout the United States and Canada. The long-held mission of the NAIA is to promote the education and development of well-rounded students and productive citizens through intercollegiate athletics. The association offers equitable access and opportunities for participation in its 23 national championship events held annually throughout the country.
Today, the NAIA strengthens its commitment to student-athletes and strives to enrich their college experience by supporting academic achievement and character development. NAIA Champions of Character is the association's innovative flagship program designed to instill character values in student-athletes, coaches and youth in the communities it serves.
Rawlings
Rawlings is a leading marketer and manufacturer of baseball equipment and other sporting goods in the United States. Rawlings is the Official Baseball and Helmet of Major League Baseball and official ball of the NCAA baseball championships. Rawlings is also the official basketball for the NAIA, NJCAA, AAU and many other organizations as well as official football of the NAIA. Rawlings is the official basketball, football, baseball, softball, volleyball and soccer ball of the National High School Federation. For more information visit www.rawlings.com.
