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Westminster College announced Thursday that Norm Parrish has been hired to coach the Griffin men's basketball program.
Parrish, the former longtime coach at Salt Lake Community College, comes to Westminster after serving as an assistant coach at Hawaii and four years as the director of men's basketball operations at Utah.
"We are excited to welcome Norm Parrish to Westminster College as our next men's basketball head coach," Westminster Athletic Director Shay Wyatt said in a statement.
"Coach Parrish brings extensive experience in all aspects of successfully managing a college basketball program. He has the experience and skills to lead our men's basketball student-athletes as we transition into the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and begin the NCAA Division II membership process. Our coaches, staff and I look forward to welcoming Norm and supporting his efforts."
During his four years at Utah, Parrish was part of the Utes' return to prominence. This past season, Utah finished 26-9 and returned to the NCAA Tournament securing the program's first NCAA tourney win since 2005 on their way to the Sweet 16. In 2014, Utah earned a bid to the National Invitational Tournament (NIT), its first postseason appearance in five years.
"I consider it an honor and privilege to join Westminster College," said Parrish. "I am well aware of their academic and athletic traditions and look forward to leading the men's basketball program as they transition to the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and NCAA Division II ranks. I am confident the men's basketball program will reach a new level of success in the RMAC because of the foundation already established. My goals are simple: I want people to say that our men competed, were well prepared and represented the college in a first-class manner."
Parrish led the men's basketball program at SLCAA to unprecedented success averaging 22 wins over 20 seasons as head coach, including a 25-8 season in 2011 and a trip to the Region 18 championship game. In 2009, his SLCC team won the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) national championship, the first in school history, along with its second consecutive Region 18 championship. Parrish received the 2009 NJCAA National Coach of the Year award for his efforts. In 2008, he coached the Bruins to a Region 18 championship and a runner-up finish at the NJCAA national championships.
Parrish will become the third coach to lead the Westminster program since it was reinstated in 1999, and only the fifth since 1956. He joins the Griffins as they begin play in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and in their first year of the NCAA Division II membership process.