Men's Basketball Coaching Staff

Steve Jenkins - Head Coach
Dick Rippee - Assistant Coach
Bert Capel - Graduate Assistant
Preston Ingram - Graduate Assistant

Steve JenkinsSteve Jenkins, Head Coach

The 2007-08 season is Steve Jenkins’ 26th as the head coach of the Crusaders. Jenkins, a 1974 Evangel graduate, has a 443-347 record in his 25 years at the helm. The 2001-02 Crusaders won the NAIA II national championship and Jenkins was named the national coach of the year. The team was ranked No. 1 in the nation all year and finished the season with a 35-1 record.

Jenkins’ 400th victory was achieved during the 2005-06 season. Three of Jenkins’ teams have won Heart of America Athletic Conference titles and six of his squads have advanced to the NAIA II national playoffs. Jenkins has been honored with five conference coach of the year awards.

A three-year basketball and four-year baseball letterman as an Evangel student athlete, 54, Jenkins, also served as the assistant basketball coach for five years and was the head baseball mentor for six campaigns. He earned his master’s degree from the University of South Florida in 1978.

Jenkins and his wife Rhonda, also a 1974 Evangel grad, have three grown children, Sarah, Jon and David.

Dick RippeeDick Rippee, Assistant Coach

Dick Rippee begins his sixth season in 2007-08 as head coach Steve Jenkins’ right-hand man. Prior to his employment with Evangel as the assistant men’s basketball coach, Rippee worked at Springfield’s Parkview High School. At Parkview he was the freshman coach for two seasons before taking over the head coach duties for four years (1998-02).His 2001-02 squad was plagued by injuries and finished 8-18. His prior three teams, however, put together a commendable 59-23 record.

Rippee, 39, is a 1989 graduate of Southwest Missouri State University (now Missouri State University) and earned his master’s degree from Drury University in 1993. Prior to his employment at Parkview, Rippee coached and taught at Nixa for one year and in the Springfield school system for six years before his employment with Parkview in 1995.

Rippee and his wife, Shelly, have two children. Ryan is 13 and Rachel is 9.

Bert Capel, Graduate Assistant

Bert Capel begins his third season as a graduate assistant coach for the 2007-08 Evangel basketball team. He earned four letters as an EU basketball player (2000-04) and was a starter for two seasons. Capel earned All-Heart of America Athletic Conference honors as a senior and was an indispensable member of EU’s national championship team in 2001-02. Capel tied the school record for free throw percentage in a game, making all ten of his attempts vs. William Jewell, on Jan. 22, 2004. Capel was the team’s co-MVP in 2003-04 and also won the team’s Discipleship Award for spiritual leadership and the team’s Hustle Award.

Capel is from Erlanger, Ky. He majored in physical education with a Biblical studies minor. Capel’s sister, Kristi, played four years on the Evangel volleyball team (2001-05). His younger brother, Jackson, is a junior on the 2007-08 squad. Capel and his wife, Stacey (Maruszak), are the resident directors for Evangel’s Krause Hall. Stacey earned four letters on the Evangel volleyball team (2001-05).

Preston Ingram, Graduate Assistant

Preston Ingram will serve as a graduate assistant coach for the 2007-08 Crusaders. It is his first year helping the EU men’s team. Ingram was a student assistant for the 2004-05 Evangel women’s basketball team. Ingram earned three EU letters and was known for his work ethic. A 2005 Evangel graduate, Ingram transferred to Evangel from Neosho County Community College, where he earned all-America honors as a track athlete. He is a 1999 graduate of Springfield’s Parkview High School and played for former EU assistant Steve Shepherd and current EU assistant Dick Rippee when the two were the head coaches at Parkview.

Currently, Ingram coaches several AAU basketball teams and referees at The Courts in Springfield. Ingram and his wife, Shanna, reside in Springfield.