GOAZCATS.com - Russ Pennell gets head job at Grand Canyon

April 8, 2009

Josh Gershon
GOAZCATS.com Senior Editor

Russ Pennell will remain a college head coach in Arizona after all.

The Wildcats' interim head coach of 2008-09 has been hired as the head coach of Grand Canyon University, a Division-II college in Phoenix.

After guiding the Wildcats to a 21-14 record and Sweet 16 appearance in 2008-09, Pennell was offered a multi-year contract with what sources say is a substantial financial package to lead Grand Canyon, which finished with a 13-14 record last season.

While Grand Canyon is currently Division II, the school has applied for Division-IA status and in two years will be able to join a D-I conference. In four years, Grand Canyon will be eligible to participate in the NCAA tournament.

Between that and a new 6,000-seat arena that will be built at the end of the year, the Grand Canyon job is a great opportunity for Pennell.

"I think the unique thing is it will be another Division-I program in the Phoenix area," Pennell said. "The state of Arizona doesn't have many Division-I options as it is. With the general population growing in Phoenix, it will be a great opportunity for kids to stay at home, get an education and play ball."

Pennell first heard from Grand Canyon about a month ago but because the Wildcats were still in season, he didn't want to immediately discuss his future.

"They contacted me when there were about two weeks left in the season," Pennell said. "My response was, 'I'll talk to you when we finish.' I didn't want to do anything to mess up the team and they were fine with that. I told them I wasn't going to talk to anyone about a job until the end of the season.

"When the season was over, I went up there to meet with them. We talked about the future and what they want to do - their dream of taking it to the next level. They wanted me to be the guy. I went to the Final Four, thought about it and determined it's something I want to do."

Just last summer, Pennell ran the Arizona Premier Basketball Academy and AAU team. To go from that to interim head coach of the UA to head coach of a future D-I school in the state of Arizona is an incredible journey in such a short period of time.

Pennell feels that everything he learned as head coach of the Wildcats will prepare him for the next step in his coaching career.

"Being a head coach for a year, I have a great insight of what's it going to take," Pennell said. "My experience at the highest Division-I level will really help me through this. I think having coached at the U of A and dealing with the pressure of succeeding and failing will prepare me for this."

After a year in which Pennell won over Arizona's team and players, proving himself as a good person, hard worker and player's coach, Pennell and his new program will definitely have the support of UA fans moving forward.