Ruder, from north to south; Griess, from far west to upper midwest.

A successful Division II coach goes from paradise to the frozen north. A successful Division III coach goes from a perennial contender in the WIAC to a team that finished in the bottom three of the SCAC.

Let's just say El Cuatro de Mayo was a head-scratcher for Division III fans.

Pam Ruder, the sixth-winningest head coach in Division III and the 1999 national coach of the year, left UW-Oshkosh, which was ranked No. 1 earlier in the season, to take the head coaching job at Southwestern, which finished 9-17, 5-9 in the SCAC this past season.  Aaron Griess, who was head men's coach and athletic director at Division II Chaminade, left Hawaii for Augsburg.

"We're very pleased to have attracted a candidate of Pam's caliber to lead the women's basketball program at Southwestern University," said athletic director Glada Munt. "She's one of the top coaches in Division III women's basketball, and we are excited for her to come in and build on the foundation that coach (Kerri) Brinkoeter started."

Ruder is 203-46 for her career, an .815 winning percentage. She graduated from WIAC member UW-Whitewater.

"I'm very excited to have the opportunity to join the athletic department at Augsburg College," Griess said. "Throughout the whole process, I've been impressed with the professionalism and the enthusiasm of the administration and staff. I'm looking forward to working with everyone to help the program regain its prominence in Division III basketball."

Griess is a 1993 graduate of and three-year starter at Colorado College and was also a graduate assistant at Loras. He replaces Brian Ammann, who stepped down at the end of January.