TAMPA - University of South Florida men's basketball coach Stan Heath has hired Andy Hipsher as the Director of Operations, solidifying the 2009-10 Bulls coaching staff.
"I'm excited to have Andy join our staff," said Heath. "He's a multi-talented young coach, who will work extremely well with my coaches and players. His previous experiences have prepared him well to have an immediate impact on our program."
Hipsher replaces Tommy Tonelli, who recently accepted the head boys basketball coaching position at Wharton High School in Tampa.
Hipsher, the son of former USF associate head coach Dan Hipsher, comes to the Bulls after two seasons as an assistant coach with Western Michigan.
Hipsher has already worked on staffs with Bob Knight, Lon Kruger and Dick Hunsaker and grew up and played for his father, Dan Hipsher, the long-time head coach at Akron, former assistant at Arkansas and USF, and current assistant at Alabama.
In his first season in Kalamazoo, Hipsher helped the Broncos reclaim the MAC West title with a 12-4 mark in the league and a 20-12 record overall. The Broncos reached 20 wins for the first time since 2004-05 and only the seventh time in school history. In his two years at Western Michigan, the Broncos won 19 conference games.
He spent the 2006-07 season as an assistant coach at Utah Valley State in Orem, Utah, under former Ball State head coach Dick Hunsaker. The Wolverines went 22-7, the best record by a Division I independent school since Notre Dame went 23-6 during the 1985-86 season. Guard Ryan Toolson was named CollegeInsider.com Independent MVP and First Team All-Independent and forward David Heck was Second Team All-Independent.
Prior to joining the staff at UVSC, Hipsher spent three months as the video coordinator at UNLV for Lon Kruger. Even though he was there for just a short time, Hipsher gained valuable knowledge and experience with a staff that led the Runnin' Rebels to the 2007 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16.
Upon finishing his playing career with the Zips, Hipsher relocated to Lubbock, Texas, to work with Bobby Knight, the all-time winningest coach in Division I history. He was a graduate assistant coach for two years at Texas Tech (2004-06) and was part of the Red Raiders' success during the 2004-05 season when they advanced to the 2005 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 with wins over UCLA and Gonzaga and finished the year 22-11.
He also worked as a broadcast analyst for Texas Tech on the Texas Tech Sports Network for both television and radio.
Hipsher spent five seasons at Akron (1999-2004) playing for his father, and became one of the best players in Zips history, despite a playing career that was hampered by three back surgeries.
He finished his career with 1,136 points, which ranks 27th in UA history, along with ranking fifth in career assists (344) and ninth in blocks (48). He pulled down 594 rebounds and made 140 steals. Hipsher finished his career shooting .502 (365-727) from the field, .337 (65-193) from behind the three-point line and .746 (341-457) at the free throw line.
A team co-captain each of his last two seasons, Hipsher was a two-time Academic All-MAC honoree (2003, 2004) and was named to the 2000 MAC All-Freshman Team and 2003-04 Preseason All-MAC Team.
Hipsher was named Second Team All-Ohio Division II and Akron Beacon Journal Player of the Year after leading Archbishop Hoban to the state's top ranking throughout most of his senior season with 20.1 points and 9.1 rebounds per game. He was also an All-Ohio Division I Special Mention selection as a junior averaging 17 points per game at Massillon Jackson.
Hipsher earned his bachelor's degree in business management with a minor in entrepreneurship from Akron in 2003 and then completed his master's in business administration with a concentration in marketing from Akron in 2005.
