Quick Facts
Biography
Paul Sather (born August 28, 1971) is an American college basketball coach, currently head coach for the University of North Dakota.
Sather, from Princeton, Minnesota, played college basketball for Northern State in Aberdeen, South Dakota from 1990 to 1994. Following his college career, he entered coaching, first as an assistant coach at Sidney High School in Nebraska, then as a graduate assistant at Wayne State College under Greg McDermott, where he also obtained a master's degree in sports administration. In 1998, Sather returned to Northern State as an assistant coach, where he served for six years. For the 2004–05 season, Sather joined Ricardo Patton’s staff at Colorado.
In 2005, Sather was named head coach of Black Hills State University in Spearfish, South Dakota. In his five seasons at Black Hills State, he led the Yellow Jackets to a 94–62 record. His 2008–09 team went 30–5, setting a school season record for wins. In the 2008–09 season, he also won the DAC Coach of the Year.
Sather was then hired to lead the program at his alma mater, Northern State, replacing Don Meyer. His teams went 188–89 in nine seasons. During this time, Sather won back to back Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) coach of the year awards and the Wolves played in the championship game of the 2018 NCAA Division II Tournament, narrowly losing to Ferris State. That team finished 36-4 and set a school record for consecutive wins with 18.
On May 30, 2019, Sather was announced as the new head coach for the North Dakota Fighting Hawks of the Summit League. He picked Jamie Stevens and Zach Horstman, who were assistants under him at Northern State, as assistant coaches.
He has two children, Sam and Becca, and a wife named Kelsie
Head Coaching Record
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black Hills State (Dakota Athletic Conference) | |||||||||
| 2005–06 | Black Hills State | 17–14 | 10–4 | ||||||
| 2006–07 | Black Hills State | 10–19 | 5–9 | ||||||
| 2007–08 | Black Hills State | 16–14 | 8–7 | ||||||
| 2008–09 | Black Hills State | 30–5 | 13–1 | NAIA Final Four | |||||
| 2009–10 | Black Hills State | 21–10 | 10–3 | NAIA First Round | |||||
| Black Hills State: | 94–62 (.603) | 46–24 (.657) | |||||||
| Northern State (Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference) | |||||||||
| 2010–11 | Northern State | 12–14 | 7–14 | T10th | |||||
| 2011–12 | Northern State | 13–13 | 9–13 | T8th | |||||
| 2012–13 | Northern State | 20–11 | 14–8 | T5th | |||||
| 2013–14 | Northern State | 18–11 | 13–9 | 8th | |||||
| 2014–15 | Northern State | 23–9 | 15–7 | 4th | NCAA DII First Round | ||||
| 2015–16 | Northern State | 18–12 | 13–9 | 4th | |||||
| 2016–17 | Northern State | 22–8 | 17–5 | T2nd | |||||
| 2017–18 | Northern State | 36–4 | 20–2 | 1st | NCAA DII National Runner-Up | ||||
| 2018–19 | Northern State | 26–7 | 18–4 | 1st | NCAA DII First Round | ||||
| Northern State: | 188–89 (.679) | 126-71 (.640) | |||||||
| North Dakota (Summit League) | |||||||||
| 2019–20 | North Dakota | 15–18 | 7–9 | 6th | |||||
| North Dakota: | 15–18 (.455) | 7–9 (.438) | |||||||
| Total: | 297–169 (.637) | ||||||||
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