May 20, 2008
LAS VEGAS - Caitlin Collier and Kari Duperron have been named women's basketball assistant coaches at UNLV, head coach Kathy Olivier announced on Tuesday. Duperron joined the staff this month, while Collier will start on June 1.
Collier comes to UNLV after serving the past 11 years as the first and only head women's basketball coach at Menlo College in Atherton, Calif. The two-time Cal Pac Conference Coach of the Year averaged 20 wins in each of the past four seasons, including last season when the Oaks' finished at 25-3 (16-0 in conference play). Collier had a career record of 172-96 at the school after starting the program from scratch in 1997. She led the Oaks to three NAIA tournament appearances, including a Sweet 16 finish in 2006. The team also won three conference tournament championships, two regular-season championships, and this past year was ranked No. 7 in the NAIA national top-25 rankings, the highest in program's history
Collier also has been Menlo's Director of Athletics since July of 2003, the first woman to hold the position in the school's 75-year history, and saw the Oaks win the Cal Pac Conference All Sports Trophy in 2006-07. She was selected as president of the NAIA Women's Basketball Coaches Association in October 2007 as well.
Prior to Menlo, Collier spent one season at Dominican University (Calif.) as assistant coach and assistant athletic director during the 1996-97 season. She played one season for UC Davis (1989-90), and received her bachelor of arts degree in psychology from the school in 1993. Collier also earned a master of arts degree in sports management from the University of San Francisco in 1997, and completed a fellowship at Oxford University in the spring of 2002.
"Caitlin was very successful at the NAIA level and her teams were always among the best in the nation on the defensive end, leading the country in field goal percentage defense," Olivier said of Collier. "She is relentless in her work ethic and will not rest in her efforts in bringing success to UNLV. I think she'll be a huge asset to our staff."
Duperron has previous ties to Olivier, as she spent a total of four seasons on the UCLA staff beginning in the 2003-04 season as the director of basketball operations when Olivier was the Bruins' head coach. She also spent a portion of the 2006-07 season as an interim assistant coach for Olivier. At UCLA, she oversaw the administrative side of the program which included work on recruiting, marketing, and also directed the summer and winter basketball camps.
Duperron spent last season as the sophomore boys' basketball coach for North Torrance High School in Torrance, Calif., and led the team to a second place league finish, while also serving as assistant coach for the varsity team that won its first league championship since 1972.
Duperron began her collegiate career at Cal Poly as a freshman walk-on, and would finish as a three-year starting point guard. She was a two-time team captain and named the 2003 Big West Conference "Hustle Player of the Year." Duperron earned her bachelor of science degree in marketing management from Cal Poly in June of 2003, and also received a master of arts degree in sport management from Long Beach State in February of 2006.
"Kari is a very hard-working and dedicated coach with excellent people skills," said Olivier. "She also comes from a strong basketball family and her outstanding knowledge of the sport will be one of her greatest additions to our staff here. Having worked for me for four years before, I know that Kari's loyalty and work ethic are superb. She is really good with individual work with the players, which will be important for us this coming season."
