After a successful four-year run at Norwich, Steve Lanpher was the head coach at Division I New Jersey Institute of Technology for six seasons. Photo by NJIT athletics |
Steve Lanpher, who led the Norwich women to postseason success more than a decade ago, has returned to Division III to coach the Randolph College women's program.
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Randolph College Athletic Director Tony Berich announced the hire via press release.
"[Lanpher] has been a proven winner everywhere he has been and he brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the position," said Berich in the release. "While his track record of success on the court is very impressive, his reputation as a teacher and mentor throughout his career is really what attracted us to his candidacy and we are eager to have him join our program."
Lanpher was the head women's basketball coach at Norwich from 2002 through 2006 and went 93-28 over that period. The Cadets won the GNAC title under Lanpher in 2006 and defeated Maine-Farmington in the first round of the 2005 NCAA Tournament. Lanpher's tenure at Norwich is by far the Cadets' best four-year period in program history.
Lanpher conveyed that success into associate head coaching jobs at two Division I schools, the University of Massachussets and the University of Vermont. In 2012 he became the head women's basketball coach at Division I New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) and he held that position for six seasons before resigning in March 2018. NJIT went 55-124 under Lanpher with a winning season in his first season there.
Lanpher spent last year as the head women's basketball coach and executive director of Combine Academy, a boarding school outside of Charlotte that offers high school and post graduate programs.
He replaces Andrea Kendall who went 23-54 in three seasons at Randolph. The WildCats finished 5-20 the last two seasons and have won five or fewer conference games in all but one of their last 10 seasons.