LSSU names new athletic director to replace Bill Crawford

NEWS RELEASE

LAKE SUPERIOR STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS

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Dunbar will take over as LSSU Director of Athletics; Pewinski is promoted to head women’s basketball coach effective March 27

SAULT STE. MARIE – After completing her eighth season as head women’s basketball coach at Lake Superior State University, Sault Ste. Marie native Kris Dunbar will take over as LSSU’s director of athletics.

Dunbar, who was promoted to associate director of athletics last spring, will replace Bill Crawford. Jamie Pewinski, who spent seven seasons assisting Dunbar and was promoted to associate head coach last year, will take over as the head coach of the LSSU women’s basketball team. Crawford, who was the LSSU director of athletics for 10 years, has been named vice-president for university relations and marketing.

Thomas Coates, who is currently director of the Annual Fund and Athletic Development for the LSSU Foundation, will become assistant director of athletics. He will assist Dunbar and the coaching staff in a variety of ways, but fund-raising will be a high priority for the new athletics administration.

“Our biggest challenge here is to raise enough money so Lake Superior State can be competitive in the CCHA and the GLIAC,” Dunbar said. “We need to be competitive, and we need money in order to do it. That’s going to be a major aspect of my job – to go out and raise funds so teams can go out and be successful.”

“We have priority needs in public relations, communications and marketing, and Bill has great expertise in these areas,” LSSU President Betty Youngblood said. “He can help meet significant University priorities by assuming these new responsibilities. Kris is a Laker through and through and has the administrative skills to be a highly-effective athletic director. I am confident that Kris will bring the same passion and determination to the athletic director’s position that she bring to everything she does. She and Tom Coates are committed to an emphasis on fund-raising. This is a very significant University need.”

Dunbar is LSSU’s all-time winningest basketball coach and a two-time Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Coach of the Year. She will be coaching her final home game when the Lakers take on Northwood at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday at Bud Cooper Gymnasium. Before taking over as A.D., she has a chance to lead her squad to a fifth-straight 20-win season and fifth straight NCAA Tournament appearance.

Dunbar and Pewinski informed their players of the impending change at Sunday’s practice, but all staff changes will be effective March 27.

“We have mature players,” Dunbar said. “I think it will be an easier transition because they know who’s going to be their head coach next year. Jamie and I have similar styles of coaching, and I don’t think it will be that much of a change.

“I’m extremely thrilled for Jamie. She deserves the head coaching job. I’m excited that she has the opportunity to be the head coach, and I still get to stay here. She’s ready. She’s proven herself over and over again in the situations that we’ve had. She’s taken over in games, drawn out plays. She gives me so much information. There’s no doubt in my mind that she’s ready to take over this program.”

Pewinski has played a major role in the Lakers’ recent success. Dunbar has a career record of 152-70, including a 140-55 mark since Pewinski has been a part of the coaching staff. During their era together, the Lakers have won four GLIAC North Division titles and two GLIAC Tournament titles, and they have made one NCAA Elite Eight Appearance.

“Coach Dunbar has always allowed me to be extremely involved – more than most assistant coaches,” Pewinski said. “I’ve been fortunate to have my hand in almost everything, whether exclusively or by helping Coach Dunbar…All I can do is believe that I am ready. I’m confident in my abilities and my knowledge of the game. I hope I can find an assistant who can bring in a few more things.”

Both Pewinski and Dunbar have had opportunities to move on to other schools and have opted to stay at LSSU. Pewinski is a 1999 graduate of Saginaw Valley State University and earned a master’s degree in business administration from LSSU in 2002.

“In my heart, I knew I wanted to stay here,” Pewinski said. “With Kris being so young and early in her career, I didn’t know if that was always an option. But there’s probably less than a handful of times that I seriously looked at going somewhere else. I knew I wanted to stay here, obviously because of the tradition and the fact that we are successful. The league we play in is second to none. I like the town and the support from the community, and even the faculty and staff. We’ve built a reputation during these seven years. I’ve been here throughout that time and feel more vested than if I had come in two years ago.”

“Jamie Pewinski will lead women’s basketball with enthusiasm and dedication,” Youngblood said. “She has already been a part of the winning tradition at LSSU and is well-prepared to be a head coach. We’re fortunate to have her with us.”

Dunbar, who is a 1992 graduate of LSSU and earned a master’s degree in education from Elmira College in 1997, has been the senior women’s administrator for the LSSU Department of Athletics since 1998.

“Bill has been very helpful in keeping me informed regarding all aspects of the athletic department,” Dunbar said. “I feel like I know Lake Superior State athletics so well after coaching here for eight years and being a player here for four years. I’ve spent half my life involved with Laker athletics.”

Dunbar, a fierce competitor, will lead a new team into next season, but is thankful that she won’t lose touch with her current players.

“I really enjoy having a team and being part of a team,” she said. “It is special, going through the season with a group of individuals who are all striving toward the same goals. From the pre-season team bonding to getting into the tournament, there is something special that happens throughout those months that draws you close together and makes you feel like a family.

“We have such a strong alumni base because of the quality of people that both Jamie and I have brought into the women’s basketball program. It’s nice to know that we’ve won a few championships. Those are great memories, but the best memories are the ones that only the team knows about – the team retreats and the road trips, the funny things. Those are just as important as the memories of cutting down a net.”

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