- In his second year as an assistant coach for the UIS men’s basketball program
- Helped UIS to its best record in six seasons during his first year on staff
- A graduate of Iowa State University
Jack Sanders is in his second season as an assistant coach for the University of Illinois Springfield men’s basketball program in 2018-19. His primary responsibilities include on-court coaching, scouting, video analysis, and team operations.
In his first year, Sanders was part of a coaching staff that led UIS to its best season in six years as the Prairie Stars went 14-14 in the regular season, and 6-12 in GLVC play. Among the players he coached was Eddie Longmeyer, who earned second-team all-conference accolades.
Sanders has also assisted with coaching at basketball camps at UIS and St. Louis University.
Sanders graduated from Iowa State with a degree in Liberal Studies. He is currently pursuing his master’s degree in Computer Science at UIS.
Sanders, who is originally from Ames, Iowa comes from a family of intercollegiate athletics professionals. His mom, Calli, is Senior Associate Director of Athletics at Iowa State University. His dad, Rick, is former Commissioner of the Midwest Collegiate Conference. His grandfather, Gary Sanders, was the play-by-play voice for the Auburn Tigers and the UAB Blazers before his retirement. His sister was a three-year letterwinner for the United States Naval Academy women’s basketball team. Jack also has an older brother, Theisen, a software engineer in Denver, Colo.
Jack is engaged to Blair Holck, and they plan to be married in summer 2019.
