Kerry N. Prather Title: Dir of Athletics/Head Mens Basketball Co Department: Athletics Office Location: Spurlock Office Phone: (317) - 738 - 8121 E-mail Address: kprather@franklincollege.edu

Kerry Prather serves as Franklin College's director of athletics and head men's basketball coach. He joined the Franklin College staff in 1982 as the assistant basketball coach and was promoted to the head coaching position the following year. In addition to his coaching responsibilities, Prather has held administrative positions as assistant dean of students, associate director of admissions, acting vice president for enrollment management and acting vice president for administration.

Prather holds bachelor's and master's degrees from Indiana University. In 1999, he was named an associate alumnus of Franklin College. Prather was honored as the Indiana Collegiate Athletic Conference's Coach of the Year after guiding the Grizzlies to league championships in 1989 and 1992 and a runner-up finish in 1998. He coached the Grizzlies to an NAIA District 21 championship and No. 3 seed in the NAIA national tournament in Texas in 1991-92. Franklin finished in the Elite Eight that year.

In 1998-99, he guided Franklin to its first (renamed) Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament championship, which earned his team an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championships tournament. Making its second consecutive NCAA tournament appearance, the Grizzlies reached the Sweet 16 in 1999.

In 1999-2000, he guided Franklin to regular season and tournament titles in the Heartland Conference, and the program's third consecutive NCAA tournament appearance. In 2001-02, he coached the Grizzlies to their third HCAC tournament title in four seasons and their fourth NCAA tournament berth in five years. Prather guided Franklin to its fourth conference regular season championship in 2006-07. The Grizzlies then won their fourth conference tournament crown, earning its fifth appearance in the NCAA playoffs, in 2007-08 and then captured their fifth regular season title in 2008-09 under Prather.

Heading into the 2010-11 campaign, the Grizzlies have a combined record of 222-125 in the past 13 seasons, including a 126-51 mark in Franklin's Spurlock Center gymnasium during that period. Franklin was first among all NCAA Division III schools in team three-point field goal percentage in 1997-98 and 1999-2000, tops in overall field goal shooting in 1999-2000 and 2008-09, and first in team free throw accuracy in 2000-01. Prather served on the NCAA men's basketball committee for the Midwest Region.

Prather has coached seven recipients of the conference Player of the Year award - Mike Gibbs, Scott Roberts, John Holden, Jason Sibley, Paul Buening and Nick Kane, including one repeat selection (Sibley), plus two All-America players (Holden and Sibley), including one repeat honoree (Sibley). Moreover, he has coached Dave Dunkle, who was selected to the GTE/CoSIDA Academic All-America Team and was awarded the prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship in 1993-94.

With 433 victories, Prather is Franklin's winningest men's basketball coach. Moreover, his teams have combined for a 175-119 mark in Indiana Collegiate Athletic Conference and Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference regular season contests since 1988. Prather and his wife, Cindy, who teaches in the education department at Franklin College, have two children, Katie and Robbie.