MEN’S BASKETBALL COACH RESIGNS AT IOWA LAKES

Iowa Lakes Community College will be looking for a new head men’s basketball coach and an athletics director for the 07-08 season following the resignation of Jason Vande Brake this week.

Vande Brake, a native of Orange City, told the college Thursday he will be moving to LeMars and taking a job with Edward Jones as a financial advisor.  Student-athletes on the men’s basketball squad were advised in a meeting late Thursday that included Vande Brake, Dr. Harold Prior, College President, and Julie Carlson, Dean of Enrollment Management.

“We just wanted to reassure them that the search for a head coach would begin immediately and the quality of the program would continue.  We told them we will have some basketball players involved in the search and interview process,” Carlson said.

Vande Brake expressed his appreciation to the college.

“I’ve enjoyed the support I’ve gotten from the people at the college,” Vande Brake said.  “I was grateful for my experience here.  Anytime you can go back and work where you had a good past experience as a student-athlete, you feel fortunate.”

In particular, he’s going to miss the students.

“Getting to know the student-athletes was great.  That’s the toughest part – leaving the athletes I coached.”

And he’ll also miss the fine people of Estherville and the surrounding area, he said.

Vande Brake looks back on a career that’s been extremely satisfying. 

“At 30, my dream job was to be the athletics director at Iowa Lakes, I was fortunate to do that at 25,” he said.  “The timing is right with me getting married this summer. Now I’ll have a chance to get closer to home and work with a company like Edward Jones.”

The college will miss him.

“Obviously, we hate to lose him,” Carlson said, “but we’re excited for him and his new career opportunities.”

The quality of his recruits has been outstanding.

“He’s recruited some of the nicest, most intelligent and well-behaved students who have the skills to play college level basketball.  It’s good to have them as part of the student body,” she said.

“Jason’s built a strong program and we’re going to do everything we can to continue that strong Iowa Lakes basketball tradition,” she said.  “He’s been diligent in ensuring that our operating budgets and student scholarship funds keep us competitive with other programs of similar size.”

In addition to his duties as athletics director and head men’s basketball coach, Vande Brake was the head of housing on the Estherville campus.

He was a two-year starter as an Iowa Lakes student who achieved all-region honors.  In high school, he was a basketball standout and earned all-state accolades.  He then graduated from Drake where he played, served as a student assistant and then served on the basketball staff at Drake.

In 2001, Vande Brake joined Iowa Lakes as assistant men’s basketball coach, housing coordinator in Estherville as well as the coordinator of intramurals at the college.  In the spring of 2003, he was selected to succeed then athletics director Darin Moeller.

Vande Brake will leave the college at the end of his contract period, June 30.

For the college, the search will begin immediately. Individuals may look at the college Web site for a job description.