March
30, 2006
Release courtesy of Mark Adkins, Wartburg College sports information
director
WAVERLY,
IOWA . . . Rockford College (Ill.) head coach Bob
Amsberry has been named head women’s basketball
coach at Wartburg College.
Wartburg
Director of Athletics Rick Willis announced the appointment
today.
"We
are excited to have Bob join our staff at Wartburg,” Willis
said. “His accomplishments as the head coach at Rockford
College are extremely impressive. Bob has both the experience
and energy necessary to lead our women's basketball program
confidently for many years to come."
When Amsberry
took over as the women’s basketball coach at Rockford
College in 1997, the program was in the midst of a national
record 70-game losing streak. In just his third season, the
Regents posted one of the best turn-arounds in NCAA history,
going from 6-19 to an 18-8 record. Over the course of the next
six seasons, the Regents were awarded four bids to the Division
III NCAA tournament and won the Northern Illinois-Iowa Conference
regular season and tournament title three times. Amsberry earned
NIIC Coach of the Year honors in each of the last three seasons.
"I
am honored and humbled for the opportunity to lead the Wartburg
College women's basketball program,” Amsberry said. “Wartburg
College is a special place with proud traditions, and I am excited
to move the program forward.
“I'd
like to thank Rick Willis, President Ohle, and the Wartburg
family for the tremendous opportunity to lead one of the premier
programs at one of the most well-respected institutions in the
country,” he added.
Amsberry
has guided Rockford to seven consecutive winning seasons. During
that stretch, his teams won more games than any other seven-year
stretch in the 34-year history of the program. Prior to arriving
at Rockford, Amsberry served as an assistant coach at MacMurray
College in Illinois. A native of Dunlap, Iowa, he earned his
Bachelor of Arts degree in 1990 from Buena Vista College and
his Master of Science degree in Physical Education from Western
Illinois University in 1996.
Amsberry
and his wife, Erin, are the parents of two children, Joseph
(11) and Paige (5).
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