ST. PAUL, Minn. – The University of Northwestern Athletic Department is losing a familiar face, as Assistant Director of Athletics for Sports Information and Women's Basketball Associate Head Coach David Pederson has accepted the position of Women's Basketball Head Coach at Crown College after eight total years in the Northwestern Athletic Department.
"DP," as he is affectionately known across campus, first entered the UNW Athletics sphere in the fall of 2014 as a Men's Basketball Student Coach on Tim Grosz's staff, a role he held until graduating in 2018. During his time as a student at Northwestern, Pederson also got his first athletic communications experience, serving as a Sports Information Intern under current University of Southern California Deputy Athletic Director/Chief of Staff Jay Hilbrands.
After a two-year stint as the Men's Basketball Graduate Assistant Coach at the University of Dubuque, Pederson returned to UNW in 2020 as a Men's Basketball Volunteer Assistant Coach. The following year, DP was hired full-time by the university as the Assistant Sports Information Director, as well as an elevation to a full-time Men's Basketball Assistant Coach. In 2023, Pederson made the switch from Men's Basketball to the UNW Women's team, taking on the role of Associate Head Coach under Aaron Kahl. Concurrently, he took the helm as Assistant Director of Athletics for Sports Information after his predecessor, Jordan Benson, was named Assistant Commissioner of the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference.
The decision to leave was a bittersweet one for Pederson. "While I am excited to become the new Head Women's Basketball Coach at Crown College, it was an extremely hard decision to leave my two roles at the University of Northwestern," he remarked. "As an alum of UNW, this university was extremely impactful on me as a student. As an employee, I have been blessed to work in many different roles within the athletic department throughout the years."
"During my time in Sports Information, it was an honor for me to work with all of UNW's athletic programs," Pederson continued. "The coaches at Northwestern are phenomenal and easy to work with, but it is the student-athletes that make it extremely special. It was a joy to tell their stories and cover their accomplishments every day as the Sports Information Director. As an Assistant Basketball Coach for both the Men's and Women's programs at Northwestern, I was able to coach the greatest student-athletes in the world. It was a special experience for me to pour into these players and help develop them as students, athletes, and most importantly, followers of Christ. I am thankful to coaches Tim Grosz and Aaron Kahl for helping develop me as a coach and having me well prepared to lead another program within the UMAC.
I also want to say thank you to Dr. Matt Hill and everybody else who allowed me to work alongside them at Northwestern for the last several years. Northwestern is my alma mater and where I got my start in collegiate athletics. The Eagles will always have a special place in my heart and I am grateful to this school for living out the tagline "Compete With Purpose" every single day."
DP made his mark on Northwestern Athletics not only in the sports he coached, but also through increased visibility for the department and school through a commitment to equal coverage across UNW's 16 varsity sports, high quality social media content and graphics, the creation of the "Flying" podcast, and much more. The Northwestern Athletic Department and Director of Athletics, Dr. Matt Hill, will miss his presence in the Ericksen Center, but wish him the best as he takes the next steps in his coaching career. "I am very excited for David to begin his head coaching career," says Dr. Hill. "He's a dedicated, hard-working coach committed to the success of his team, so I know he will do an excellent job at Crown. David also has an infectious personality and will be an asset to the Crown community. I wish him the best in his future coaching endeavors."
In the immediate future, Assistant Sports Information Director Jess Poppen will serve as Interim SID.
