Email Head Coach Joel "JoJo" DePagter joel.t.depagter@lawrence.edu
Joel DePagter, better known as JoJo on the Lawrence University campus, took over the Vikings in the fall of 2004 and Lawrence won the Midwest Conference Championship in 2005.
Under DePagter's guidance, the Vikings won their first Midwest Conference title since 1949, with three players earning all-conference honors. The Vikings finished second in the Midwest Conference Championships in 2003 and took third in 2004. Lawrence players Jeff Henderson and Joe Loehnis won the conference's individual title in 2002 and 2003, respectively.
DePagter, who has a bachelor's degree in history, is a 1998 Lawrence graduate. He received his master's degree in sports administration from Central Michigan University in 2000. DePagter worked as an assistant at Hillsdale College before returning to Lawrence.
A basketball star during his days at Lawrence, DePagter is in his second stint as an assistant coach for the highly successful men's basketball team. DePagter, who was an assistant coach in 1999-2000, returned to the basketball squad in 2003-04. Lawrence finished 24-5 in 2003-04, won the Midwest Conference championship and advanced to the Elite 8 of the NCAA Division III Tournament to complete the finest season in school history.
DePagter played three seasons at Lawrence and led the Vikings to the 1997 Midwest Conference championship and a berth in the NCAA Division III Tournament.
A three-time first-team All-Midwest Conference selection, the Sheboygan native is sixth on Lawrence's career scoring list with 1,243 points. He is first in career assists at 357 and first in career steals with 211. DePagter has the top three seasons in school history for assists and holds the record at 137 in 1996-97. He also is 1-2-3 on the season steals list and holds the mark at 77 in 1996-97. DePagter is one of the best long-range shooters in school history, ranking third with 171 career 3-pointers, and he tops the single-season list with 66 in 1997-98. He ranks sixth in 3-point field goal percentage at 38.3 percent and is fifth in free throw percentage at 80.1.
DePagter lives in Appleton.