After a long and successful coaching career in the high school ranks, Jim Cole returned to his alma mater in 2018 as an assistant coach with the women’s basketball team and enters his third season for the 2020-21 campaign.
The results were instantaneous as the Scots qualified for the four-team Midwest Conference Championships for the first time since 2014. The team experienced a 10-win improvement from the prior year to finish second in the league's regular season and tournament. The following season, the team took the MWC Tournament title to qualify for the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2012.
Cole, who played basketball at Monmouth under legendary Hall of Fame coach Terry Glasgow, enjoyed an extensive coaching career which included numerous 20 win seasons and regional championship appearances. In the 2005-06 season, his first season guiding the newly formed West Central girls’ team, Cole led the squad to the regional championship and a sectional finals appearance en route to posting a 25-6 record.
An IBCA District 16 Co-Coach of the Year in 2006, Cole passed his coaching genes on to his son, Drew, an assistant coach for the Abilene Christian University women’s basketball team. An avid golfer, his passion for athletic activities is embraced by his daughter, Erika, an avid horseback rider.
Cole graduated Monmouth in 1988 with a degree in elementary education.
