Following up on something that I first mentioned back on 5/13 (DAILY DIRT). Pat Lepper has officially joined the PFW men’s basketball staff. Here’s the official release:
Pat Lepper has been named the assistant to the head coach and recruiting coordinator for the Purdue Fort Wayne men’s basketball program. Lepper played for the Mastodons from 2006-08.
“We are excited to bring one of our own back to Fort Wayne,” head coach Jon Coffman said. “Pat played for Dane Fife and is a great connection to the generations of Mastodon alums that have helped build the program. He also brings a wealth of experience to our organization as an ultra-successful head coach at Lincoln College in Illinois where he won 148 games. Pat has won at every stop along his coaching path from Division I to junior college to NAIA head coach. However what I am most excited about Pat is his ability to build relationships and the pride that he takes in building culture within his teams. He is relentless in his search for getting better and learning. As I have watched him operate, he has a knack for making everything around him better and striving to make his student-athletes’ experience the best it possibly can be.”
Lepper joins the Mastodon bench after serving as the head coach at Lincoln College for nine seasons. He oversaw the transition of the program from the junior college level to the NAIA ranks. The inaugural season for Lincoln in the NAIA in 2018-19 saw the Lynx win 22 games and beat three nationally ranked NAIA squads. During the Lynx’s second season at the NAIA level, with the opportunity to have postseason play, Lepper’s Lynx’s won the Association of Independent Institutions conference championship earning Lincoln College’s first ever automatic bid to the NAIA National Tournament. The team finished 20-13 for a second consecutive 20-win season. The Lynx were the only team in the 16-member conference to earn three all-league honors.
Prior to the leap to the NAIA, Lepper directed Lincoln college to considerable success for six seasons at the junior college level. His squad made a Region 24 Championship appearance in 2017 and won 18 or more games four times.
Lepper took the position at Lincoln after serving at John Wood Community College from 2010-2012 where he helped JWCC win 44 games and a Mid-Western Athletic Conference Regular Season Championship in 2011.
Lepper served as a graduate assistant coach at Jacksonville University from 2008-10 where he earned his MBA with a concentration in Leadership and Management. At Jacksonville, Lepper helped the Dolphins earn back-to-back ASUN Regular Season Championships and two NIT berths.
Lepper is no stranger to Fort Wayne. He played 49 games for the Mastodons over two seasons. He graduated in 2008 with a degree in general studies. Lepper received the department’s David R. Skelton Award in 2008.
