“Dan DeWitt has played a pivotal role in establishing North Central University men’s basketball as a force to be reckoned with in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference. In his time at NCU, we have achieved steady improvement on the court each year while continuing to produce the quality Christian leaders that exemplify North Central graduates. I would like to thank Dan for everything he has done within our athletic department. New Life Academy will be very pleased with the quality of man and professional that they are getting in Dan DeWitt,” said NCU Director of Athletics, Mike Knipe.
Dan DeWitt has stepped down as the North Central University head men’s basketball coach, accepting the position of Athletic Director at New Life Academy. Jeremy Becker, Assistant Men’s Basketball coach and Associate Director of Athletics for External Relations has been named DeWitt’s successor.
Recently completing his third season, DeWitt finished his time at NCU having established the Rams as a competitive contender in the UMAC. In just three years, the Rams moved from 9th to tied for second place during the 2021-22 (9-5) regular season, the highest finish by the Rams in school history. He also produced five all-conference honorees, including one Rookie of the Year and one all-defensive team honoree.
“Leaving NCU and the college coaching profession was a very difficult decision. I loved every minute of the daily grind. I’m proud to leave the program in better shape than it was when I got here. Even more difficult was saying goodbye to our players and coaches. I love these guys from the bottom of my heart and I’m going to miss them like crazy, but I’m also very excited to continue cheering for them as a fan,” said DeWitt.
DeWitt continued, “My wife and I felt that God was calling us to this new and exciting opportunity at New Life Academy. We are very excited for a new challenge and, most of all, I am looking forward to being a part of my two daughters’ K-12 experience.”
On the decision to hire Jeremy Becker, DeWitt said, “I’m very happy that Jeremy is going to get the opportunity to be a head coach. He has grown tremendously as a coach and recruiter over the last few years. I know the existing players love him and will play hard for him.”
Becker has played an instrumental part in the growth and development of the program over the last three years while being a highly valued member of the NCU athletic department and campus community.
In his role with men’s basketball, Becker assisted in bringing in over 30 players to the program over three years. Additionally, he helped develop the guards and implement NCU’s offensive philosophy, while handling scouting reports for opponents. From 2021 to 2022, Becker was the Head Coach of the Rams JV program. Before his experience at North Central, he was a four-year member of the Bethany Lutheran College men’s basketball team. As a senior, Becker helped lead the Vikings to a 20-9 overall record and their first UMAC tournament championship in program history.
“When tasked with naming the next head coach of NCU men’s basketball, it could be alluring to the outside looking in to open up the position for external candidates. This would have been an incredible mistake though. The right man for this job is Jeremy Becker. His qualities as a human being only exceed his qualities as a basketball coach. Our men’s basketball student-athletes love playing for this man, and he has the ability to continue building our program into an NCAA Division III powerhouse. Go Rams!,” said Knipe.
In addition to his basketball duties, Becker has spent the last year as Associate Director of Athletics for External relations at NCU. In this role, he excelled in social media marketing, branding, athletic communications, and fundraising for the NCU Athletic Department. He also played an instrumental part in the rollout and development of the NCU E-Sports program. From 2018 to 2020 Becker served as the Graduate Assistant for NCU in Athletic Communications, managing all of the marketing material for the athletic department, game-day management for specific sports, and all other duties for the sports information office.
“First I want to thank Coach DeWitt for his friendship and mentorship over the last five years. He gave me my first shot at coaching and I am appreciative of our relationship and the roles he allowed me to play in his program. I am grateful for the opportunity to continue working with the guys in our program at NCU. I think we have the potential to do some really special things with this group as we continue to build on the tradition that we’ve been working towards over the last three years. Thank you to Mike Knipe for believing in my potential, and my wife for supporting me in everything I do,” said Becker.
Becker graduated from Bethany Lutheran College, with honors, in 2018 with a degree in Business Administration. He completed his Master in Strategic Leadership from NCU in 2020.
https://ncurams.com/news/2022/6/7/dewitt-resigns-becker-tabbed-as-successor.aspx
