Bellman Resigns as Ohio Dominican’s Women’s Basketball Coach

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio Dominican head women's basketball coach Nathan Bellman has resigned to take a position as an assistant women's basketball coach at another institution, he announced today.

Assistant coach Lynsey Warren will serve as the interim head coach until a permanent successor is hired, Athletic Director Jeff Blair said.

"It has been a privilege to work in the Ohio Dominican athletic department for the past six years," Bellman said. "I want to thank University President Dr. Peter Cimbolic, Vice President of Student Development Jamie Caridi and Jeff Blair for their support of our family and our program. I also want to say a special thank you to former athletic director Bill Blazer, who gave me the opportunity here at ODU and helped guide and support me.

"I would also like to thank our student-athletes for their hard work on and off the court. They have helped move this program forward and the future is going to be exciting for ODU women's basketball. Lastly, I would like to thank our athletic staff at ODU and my assistants over the last six years. ODU has a quality staff and I will miss the people I was able to learn from and interact with on a daily basis. I would also like to say a special thank you to all of my assistants – Diana Noles, Rachel Schroeder, Lynsey Warren and Jennifer Bushby for all of their hard work and dedication to our program."

In Bellman's six years, his teams enjoyed success on and off the court. Bellman compiled a 91-82 record overall (.526 winning percentage), leading the Panthers to consecutive American Mideast Conference Tournament Championships and NAIA National Tournament appearances in 2007-08 and 2008-09.

Bellman was named the 2007 AMC South Division Coach of the Year, and in the following season ODU went wire-to-wire in the Top 25 rankings, reaching as high as No. 8 after beginning the season with a 9-0 mark, the best start in school history.

Along with the on-court accomplishments, Bellman has coached eight Daktronics-NAIA All-America Scholar Athletes and 19 academic all-conference selections, including 16 since the Panthers joined the GLIAC.

Following the 2010-11 season, the Panthers were honored as the No. 13 squad in the NCAA Division II Academic Top 25 rankings and have twice finished in the top ten of the WBCA Academic Honor Roll in team grade point average, finishing No. 7 in 2008-09 and No. 5 in 2009-10.

Contact: Scott Miles
miless@ohiodominican.edu