FARGO -- One of the longer-running coaching staffs in NCAA Division I men's basketball has come to an end. North Dakota State assistant Jason Kemp resigned on Tuesday to accept a similar position at the University of Toledo.
Kemp, head coach Saul Phillips, and assistants Dave Richman and Will Ryan, have been together at NDSU since the 2007-08 season. That kind of stability is rare in a profession that sees change as normal.
"I think that's extremely rare," Richman said, "And I think, you can attribute a lot of that to our success, too."
As an example, Richman pointed to NDSU not having many players transfer out in the last five years.
"The continuity within our staff has helped retain a lot of our guys," he said. "It's really been a good fit."
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Kemp was a Bison assistant for eight years. The head coach at Toledo, Todd Kowalczyk, was formerly the head coach at Wisconsin-Green Bay, where he led the Phoenix to consecutive 20-win seasons. Kemp is from Wisconsin.
At Toledo, Kowalczyk quickly turned the program around from 4-28 his first year in 2010-11 to 15-13 last year.
Kemp had been a part of the Bison men's basketball coaching staff for eight years, starting as a graduate assistant in 2005 and serving six seasons as an assistant coach from 2007-13.
Phillips was unavailable for comment, but he said in a statement that Kemp's contributions at NDSU have been "immeasurable."
"The work he's done on the court and behind the scenes, has earned him a chance at a new opportunity," Phillips said. "Jason has an unbelievably bright future ahead of him, and he will always be a friend to the NDSU athletic department and the people in it."
NDSU went 24-10 last season, advancing to the championship game of the Summit League tournament. The Bison went 108-77 for a .584 winning percentage in Kemp's tenure as an assistant coach.
Reiter resigns to take position at alma mater
Stephanie Reiter, the director of basketball operations for the NDSU women, resigned to accept an assistant position at the University of Minnesota-Duluth.
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Reiter is a former player for the Bulldogs who spent one year at NDSU. Her duties at NDSU were more administrative in nature such as coordinating team travel, video exchange, creation of general recruiting correspondence and coordinating public service events.
