John Wardenburg, an assistant for the past three seasons at Indian Hills and his former high school basketball coach, has been tabbed to replace Barret Peery as head coach of the Warriors, a job he says he’s thrilled about. "I appreciate the trust that Dr. Sprouse, Dean of Students Chris Bowser, and Athletic Director Mike Hagen have shown in me," Wardenburg said. "I am excited to build on what we have built here over the last three years."

IHCC President Dr. Marlene Sprouse said she is excited to have Wardenburg take the reins of the program. "Coach Wardenburg has been an integral part of the program’s growth during the three years coach Peery was at the helm. During a game, you would often see them conferring and strategizing," Sprouse said. "John loves our students, our program, our college and our community."

Wardenburg has an extensive coaching background, at virtually all levels. He came to Indian Hills after a season as an assistant at BYU-Hawaii, where he helped guide the Seahawks to the NCAA DII national championship game.

Prior to that, he was an assistant coach at BYU for eight years, during which the Cougars had four straight 20-win seasons and a 97-34 overall record.

The next IHCC head man had 13 years experience at the high school and junior college levels before going to BYU. In seven years as head coach at Payson and Pine View High Schools, he was 105-62. His teams won five league titles, went to the state tournament every year and his Pine View squad won the state title in 2001.

It was at Payson HS where Wardenburg coached a young Barret Peery.

After leaving the high school ranks, Wardenburg spent four years as an assistant coach at Dixie State College in Utah and was later the Athletic Director there.

"There is no other junior college in the nation that can match the administrative support, the facilities and, most of all, the fan support that our basketball team enjoys at Indian Hills," Wardenburg said. " I am really excited about the opportunity."

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