Bio

Thad Sankey is in his fourth season as University of Jamestown head women's basketball coach.

The Jimmies went 15-11 overall and 12-10 in the GPAC in 2020-21, qualifying for the GPAC quarterfinals. Hannah DeMars was named an honorable mention All-American by the NAIA and the WBCA while earning GPAC first-team all-conference honors. Kia Tower was a second-team GPAC selection, and Noelle Josephson was honored as tri-Defensive Player of the Year. The Jimmies also earned WBCA NAIA Academic Team Honor Roll recognition.

In 2019-20, the Jimmies finished 16-15, including a 71-69 win over then No. 7 Dakota Wesleyan at home. Sankey notched his 100th career coaching victory with a 71-67 overtime win over Briar Cliff on January 15. DeMars and Tower were named GPAC honorable mention all-conference.

Sankey was named head coach on July 26, 2018, and led the Jimmies to a 14-16 overall record and 8-14 record in the Great Plains Athletic Conference. Josephson was named GPAC Freshman of the Year and joined Jenna Doyle as honorable mention all-conference selections.

Before coming to Jamestown, Sankey spent the previoius five seasons as the head women's coach at Concordia (Mich.) University in Ann Arbor. He led the Cardinals to a 40-27 record over the past two seasons, including a runner-up finish in the 2017-18 NCCAA national championship game. The 2017-18 team received votes in four of six regular-season NAIA Coaches' Top 25 polls as well as the postseason poll. Since 2013-14, twelve of Sankey's players earned NAIA-Daktronics Scholar-Athlete honors, and his 2016-17 team was 21st in the WBCA Academic Top 25 with a 3.41 team grade point average.
Sankey graduated from Concordia (Neb.) in 2006 with a Bachelor of Science in Education and was a four-year varsity player for the Bulldogs, serving as team captain his final two seasons. Concordia was the NAIA Division II National Tournament runner-up in 2005, and made it to the quarterfinals of the NAIA Division II National Tournament in 2003.

Following graduation, Sankey was a graduate assistant men's basketball coach at Concordia during the 2006-07 season. He then worked at Immanuel Lutheran Christian Academy in Broken Arrow, Okla., from 2007-2012, serving as assistant administrator, athletic director, junior high, and high school teacher.

Sankey returned to Concordia as the graduate assistant women's coach in 2012-13 and was a part of a Bulldog team that finished with a 25-7 record, including a 16-4 mark in GPAC play, and an appearance in the NAIA National Tournament.

Sankey earned his Master's Degree in Education Administration from Concordia (Neb.) in 2016. He and his wife Sarah have three sons, Eli, Micah, and Benjamin.