CHARLESTON, Ill. – First-year head women's basketball coach Lee Buchanan has announced the hiring of John Swickrath as assistant women's basketball coach. Swickrath joins the Panthers after serving as the head women's basketball coach at Brescia University (Ky.) from 2008-12.
“John is a high energy coach that has a lot of coaching experience,” said Buchanan. “Having previously been a head coach, he knows how to do a little bit of everything. I am excited that he has decided to join me here at EIU.”
At Brescia, he posted a 62-66 overall record including a 60-48 record in his final three seasons. After recording a 9-23 mark in his first year rebuilding a team that only won two games the previous season, he posted back-to-back winning campaigns highlighted by a 21-win season in 2010-11. Swickrath also inherited a team with a 2.20 grade point average and saw that increase to a 3.30 grade point average at the time of his resignation to accept the position at EIU. Additionally, he was also the assistant athletics director for sports information during his tenure in Owensboro, Ky.
Prior to Brescia, Swickrath was the head men's basketball coach at Lynchburg College in Lynchburg, Va., from 2003-08. During the 2003-04 season, he led the Hornets to the program's most wins since the 1996-97 season while defeating conference rival Roanoke College in Salem, Va., for the first time in 18 years. Swickrath was also an assistant coach at Lynchburg for one season (2002-03) before being promoted to head coach – he was one of the youngest head coaches at the NCAA Division III level at the time of his promotion at the age of 25.
Before entering the collegiate coaching ranks, Swickrath was an elementary physical education teacher from 2002-04 in the Lynchburg City Schools system. In 2003, he served as the Camp Director for the Hornets Hoops Basketball Camps.
The Spencerville, Ohio, native was a three-sport athlete at Denison University (1996-2001) participating in baseball, basketball and football. He earned a bachelor's degree from Denison in 2001 before obtaining a master's degree from Indiana Wesleyan in 2005.
