Laura Dinkins has been named the 13th head coach of the Lumberjacks women's basketball program, Northern Arizona University interim Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Uri Farkas announced Tuesday.
Dinkins has 15 years of Division I basketball coaching experience, most recently with Grand Canyon University, where she spent two seasons as the associate head coach and recruiting coordinator under Molly Miller. During her time with Grand Canyon, she helped lead the Antelopes to a 56-10 overall record, including consecutive 24-plus win seasons.
Dinkins is no stranger to Northern Arizona.
She was a member of the women's basketball team from 2003 to 2008 and played on Northern Arizona's lone NCAA Tournament team under Laurie Kelly. Dinkins was the Big Sky Conference Defensive Player of the Year in 2007 and was named to the All-Big Sky second team in 2008.
Dinkins helped lead the Lumberjacks to a Big Sky championship in 2006, helping Northern Arizona advance to the NCAA tournament. In the national tournament, she scored eight points and grabbed seven rebounds in 20 minutes of action.
"Throughout the search process, it was evident Coach Laura Dinkins has an unrivaled passion for Northern Arizona University and our women's basketball program," Farkas said.聽
As an assistant coach at the D-I level, Dinkins has recruited and coached 25 all-conference selections, two players of the year, four defensive players of the year and two freshman/newcomers of the year.
"I am incredibly honored and excited to return to my alma mater as the head women's basketball coach. NAU is a special place that shaped me as both a player and a person, and I take great pride in leading this program into its next chapter," Dinkins said.聽
This year, Grand Canyon had 32 wins, the most in a single season in program history. The program secured both its first Western Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament championships en route to its first NCAA Tournament berth.
"I am delighted to welcome Coach Dinkins back to NAU. As a former Lumberjack basketball standout and assistant coach, her dedication to our university and our student-athletes is unmatched," Northern Arizona President Jos茅 Luis Cruz Rivera said. "Her proven leadership, commitment to excellence, and deep alignment with NAU's values set her apart, and I look forward to her leadership of our women's basketball program."
Prior to joining Grand Canyon, Dinkins spent six seasons at Long Beach State as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. While there, Long Beach State increased its overall win percentage.
From 2014 to 2017, she was the assistant coach at Fresno State under head coach Jaime White. Dinkins and the Bulldogs had plenty of success, with three consecutive winning seasons and two WNIT berths.
Dinkins started her coaching career at Northern Arizona under Kelly from 2010 to 2012. From there, she moved onto Idaho State, where she was the assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for two seasons.
In 2008, Dinkins led the Lumberjacks in scoring with 15.9 points per game. She also had a 43.1% field goal percentage, 252 rebounds and 48 steals in 1,144 total minutes of play.
Her 252 rebounds rank seventh in Northern Arizona history for a single season and her minutes rank second.
She ranks seventh all-time in career rebounds with 714 and eighth in games played at 120. When she graduated, her 714 rebounds ranked second all-time.
After her time at Northern Arizona, Dinkins went on to play professionally in the Netherlands and in Germany. She led both of her professional teams in scoring. In 2009, she helped the Germany Chem Cats win the D-II Championship.
Her official introductory press conference is set for Thursday, April 10, at the Parson's Family Auditorium in the Student-Athlete High Performance Center on campus, with a time yet to be determined. It will be open to the public.
The university will seek approval from the Arizona Board of Regents for Dinkins' contract soon.