Eastern Kentucky University Athletics

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Former Colonel Austin Newton is in his fifth year as an assistant coach after spending two years in the role of basketball operations assistant at EKU.  In addition to his coaching and recruiting responsibilities, Newton also serves as the team’s academic coordinator and scheduling liaison.

“Because of his experiences in and out of the game of basketball, I have been extremely impressed with Austin,” head coach Jeff Neubauer said.  “He has a passion, for basketball and for coaching, that is paying great dividends for Austin and for our program.”

Newton is now connected to Eastern’s three winningest teams.  He was a member of the team when the Colonels won what was then a school record 22 games in 2004-05.  As a member of the coaching staff, he was part of the team that broke that mark and finished the 2012-13 season with a new record of 25 victories.  This past season, Newton helped Eastern to 24 wins, the second most in program history.
 
With Newton’s guidance, the Colonels have reached several academic milestones.  Eastern Kentucky was one of only 24 sports programs from across the Ohio Valley Conference to receive a coveted NCAA Division I Academic Progress Rate (APR) Public Recognition Award in 2014.  Eastern was one of only 40 out of 349 men’s basketball teams from across the nation to earn the award.
 
Eastern’s men’s basketball team had a perfect 1,000 APR score for the 2012-13 academic year, and its multi-year score of 990 was among the top 10 highest scores for men’s basketball teams in the nation.  The multi-year score of 990 was the seventh highest in the country for a Division I men’s basketball team.  EKU exceeded the national average (957) for men’s basketball teams by 33 points.
 
In 2011-12, Newton was one of about 85 NCAA Division I coaches from across the nation to volunteer to keep a running journal on CollegeChalkTalk.com discussing life as a collegiate basketball coach and addressing some of the hot-button issues in today’s game.
 
Newton began his coaching career at Massachusetts where he served under former EKU Head Coach Travis Ford.  As a staff assistant at UMass, Newton was responsible for video preparation and exchange as well as aiding the staff with recruiting, scouting and other administrative duties.
 
Newton played collegiate basketball for four years at Eastern Kentucky (2001-05).  He was a senior captain on the 2004-05 squad that earned a spot in the 2005 NCAA Tournament.

The three-year Colonel Scholar-Athlete graduated cum laude in August 2005 with a 3.5 GPA in public relations.

A native of Campbellsville, Ky., Newton is the all-time assist leader and second leading scorer in Campbellsville High School history.

Newton and his wife, Amy, reside in Richmond with their daughter, Halle, and newborn son Hagan.