Campbellsville University's impressive season on the women's basketball court is drawing not only national attention for the program but also for its head coach, Ginger Colvin. Colvin has been named the Russell Athletic/WBCA Region 5 Coach of the Year by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) and is a finalist for the Russell Athletic/WBCA National Coach of the Year award for the NAIA.

Colvin's team posted a 29-1 record through the 2009-10 regular season, and was ranked in the NAIA Top 10 in every regular season coaches' poll. She led her team to the most regular season wins in program history (29) and the programs first 30-win season. Her team is currently on the program's second-largest home win streak with 25 wins in Powell Athletic Center and is the only team to ever go undefeated (14-0) in Mid-South Conference play.

"I can't think of a person more deserving of this recognition. She has completely revived a program, and she's done it by the sweat of her own brow. She makes us all proud to be a Lady Tiger," CU assistant coach Miranda Denney said. "I've never been around anyone who works as hard as she does on a day-to-day basis. Her heart and soul are invested in the Lady Tiger Basketball Program, and she devotes an untold amount of time, energy and effort into her student-athletes."

Colvin's record speaks for itself. Over the past three years, Colvin's win percentage has grown from .593 (19-13) her first season to now .776 for her career (76-22) entering the NAIA National Tournament next week.

However, her success is not just about wins and records. In 2009-10, she had seven players named Mid-South Conference Scholar Athletes and also had the MSC Champion of Character recipient, junior Courtney Danis.

On the court, she has watched her players reach personal accolades, as Danis and Mid-South Conference Player of the Year Whitney Ballinger, both juniors, have each passed the 1,000 point mark for their career. Ballinger has collected records in blocks and rebounds and is closing in on some scoring records, while juniors Melly Heaton and Wendi Messer have each aided in ownership of the single game 3-point record for an individual and the single season 3-point record for the team.

"Probably about 99 percent of this award has to do with the kids that play for me," Colvin said. "There's no doubt about it, I have a great group of kids. This really says a lot about them and how well they've done. It's real easy to coach when you've got kids like I do."

While Denney won't disagree with Colvin's level of talent to work with, she does believe the reason they are here is because of Colvin.

"She is respected by her peers, parents, and associates, but even more so, she is respected by the players who represent her program. I think that's what makes her great," Denney said. "She has the ability to develop meaningful, lasting relationships with everyone she meets. For that reason, and that reason alone, she has been able to recruit top-level athletes to her program."


Last week, Colvin was named the Mid-South Conference Coach of the Year for the second straight year.

Colvin is a native of Tompkinsville, Ky. She played four years at Campbellsville University, collecting school and national records for assists.

The winners of the Russell Athletic/WBCA National Coach of the Year will be honored on Monday, April 5 at 12:30 p.m. CT during the RUSSELL ATHLETIC/WBCA National Coach of the Year Luncheon at the Marriott Rivercenter in San Antonio, Texas. The luncheon is part of the 2010 WBCA National Convention, held in conjunction with the NCAA® Women's Final Four.

Finalists forthe NAIA National Coach of the Year finalists are:

Region 1 - Russ Davis, Vanguard University
Region 2 - George Wilson, College Of The Ozarks
Region 4 - Mark Youngs, Davenport University
Region 5 - Ginger Colvin, Campbellsville University
Region 6 - Nathan Teymer, Southern Polytechnic State