| Jennifer Lodge has spent four years as an assistant coach. |
Jennifer Lodge has been appointed head women’s basketball coach at Franklin, athletic director Kerry Prather announced today.
Lodge, who has most recently served as assistant women’s basketball coach at Division II Mars Hill in North Carolina, succeeds Kim Eiler, who resigned as head coach in March.
She takes over a Grizzlies team that went 25-3 this past season.
“I am proud and honored to be the new head coach at Franklin College. I want to thank Mr. Prather, President Moseley as well as the administration for giving me the opportunity to commence my head coaching career,” said Lodge. “I look forward to building on the program’s past success and having future success. I feel very blessed at the same time.”
“We are very pleased to have Jennifer Lodge assume leadership of our women’s basketball program,” said Prather. “She brings impressive experience to the position as well as energy and enthusiasm. I am confident she will lead our team effectively and continue our tradition of success.”
During her four seasons at the collegiate level as an assistant coach, she has helped develop two All-Americans, 10 All-Conference selections and six players who reached the 1,000-point plateau. Lodge helped guide programs that totaled 129 victories and 37 losses.
She was a part of a Gannon team that won the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Tournament championship, set several NCAA Division II records – including most wins in a season (finishing 37-1), and achieved a NCAA Final Four berth for the first time in school history. The Golden Knights were ranked No. 2 in the nation in the final USA Today/ESPN Top 25 Coaches Poll that season. In 2008-09, Gannon was ranked 20th in the final Top 25 poll, and was 12th in the WBCA Top 25 Honor Roll with a 3.497 team grade point average. Gannon totaled 63 wins in Lodge’s two years there.
In her first season as assistant coach at Mars Hill (2010-11), the program produced 17 wins, the most in six years, after the team had just five victories the previous season. Lodge’s duties at Mars Hill included serving as recruiting coordinator, academic advisor, and strength and conditioning coach. She also taught physical education courses there.
Lodge also was an assistant girls’ basketball coach at Evergreen High School in Lyons, Ohio. The team achieved a 16-6 record during the 2007-08 season, winning its first sectional tournament title in 25 years and earning a district tournament appearance.
She was an assistant coach and player with the Hogsbo Basket Club in Sweden, She was a member of the Division 1 team for one season following her collegiate playing career at Campbell University in Buies Creek, N.C.
At Campbell, Lodge was a four-year starter and was named to the Atlantic Sun Conference All-Freshman Team in 2002-03. She played in 109 collegiate contests, starting in 82 of them. She was a member of the Atlantic Sun’s All-Academic Team in 2004 and 2005 and was a Dean’s List student.
A native of Port Moody, B.C., Lodge graduated from Campbell with a bachelor’s degree in exercise sport science in 2006 and holds a master’s degree in higher education administration and leadership.