Paul Sather


Paul Robert Sather is an American college basketball coach, currently head men's basketball coach at the University of North Dakota.

Early life

Sather, from Princeton, Minnesota, played college basketball for Northern State in Aberdeen, South Dakota from 1990 to 1994.

Coaching career

Early coaching career

Following his college career, he entered coaching, first as an assistant coach at Sidney High School in Nebraska, then as a graduate assistant at Wayne State College under Greg McDermott, where he also obtained a master's degree in sports administration. In 1998, Sather returned to Northern State as an assistant coach, where he served for six years. For the 2004–05 season, Sather joined Ricardo Patton’s staff at Colorado.

Black Hills State

In 2005, Sather was named head coach of Black Hills State University in Spearfish, South Dakota. In his five seasons at Black Hills State, he led the Yellow Jackets to a 94–62 record. His 2008–09 team went 30–5, setting a school season record for wins as well as winning the DAC regular season and tournament championships. In the 2008–09 season, he also won the DAC Coach of the Year. His 2009–10 team finished 21–10, winning the DAC regular season championship with a 10–3 record. The Yellow Jackets would make their second straight appearance in the NAIA Division II tournament, losing in the first round to the Saint Francis Cougars by a score of 86–83. Following the season, four players were named to the DAC All-Conference team, Luke Enos, Cain Atkinson, Will John Johnson, and Clay Pottorff. Will John Johnson was named as the DAC Defensive Player of the Year and Cain Atkinson was named as an NAIA Honorable Mention All-American. Luke Enos was also named as the DAC Player of the Year and was named as an NAIA First Team All-American.
In 2023, the 2008–09 team was inducted in the Black Hills State Athletics Hall of Fame.

Northern State

Sather was then hired to lead the program at his alma mater, Northern State, replacing Don Meyer. His teams went 188–89 in nine seasons. During this time, Sather won back to back Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference coach of the year awards and the Wolves played in the championship game of the 2018 NCAA Division II tournament, narrowly losing to Ferris State. That team finished 36-4 and set a school record for single season wins and consecutive wins with 18.

North Dakota

On May 30, 2019, Sather was announced as the new head coach for the North Dakota Fighting Hawks of the Summit League. He picked Jamie Stevens and Zach Horstman, who were assistants under him at Northern State, as assistant coaches. During his first season, Sather led the Fighting Hawks to the Summit League tournament championship game for the first time in school history, subsequently losing to North Dakota State. On March 14, 2023, it was announced that Sather was hired to a two year extension through the 2025–26 season.

Head coaching record

Career stats

College

Coaching tree

Assistant coaches under Sather who became NCAA or NBA head coaches
He has two children, Sam and Becca, and a wife named Kelsie.
His son, Sam, was an offensive lineman for the Northern State Wolves from 2021 to 2023 and then for the Dakota State Trojans from 2024 to 2025.