Contact: Clark Teuscher, Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302

May 26, 2021 - North Central College athletic director Jim Miller '86 has proudly announced the hiring of Frankie Saban M '21 as the new head coach of the Cardinals' men's and women's golf programs.

An accomplished competitor at the NCAA Division I level at Bradley University, Saban has been a graduate assistant coach for North Central's women's golf program the past two years. Saban replaces Steve Sellers '76, who has decided to step down after coaching the men's program since 2015 and the women's team since 2017. Sellers will continue to serve as an assistant coach for the Cardinals.

"We're incredibly excited to bring Frankie on as our head coach after doing such a great job the past two years as a graduate assistant," Miller said. "She has a tremendous pedigree as a player and is someone our student-athletes can learn from in that respect, and she also places a high degree of emphasis on excellence in academics. We have no doubt that she will create an incredible competitive environment for them."

A native of Palos Park, Illinois, Saban recently graduated from North Central with a master's degree in sports leadership. In four years as a player at Bradley, Saban earned All-Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) honors twice, including a second-place finish at the 2018 MVC Championship. She carded a second-round score of 68 in the 2018 tournament to match the third-best round ever by a Bradley player in competition and was named a First Team MVC Scholar-Athlete as a senior as well as a four-year Women's Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) All-American Scholar. Saban graduated from Bradley in 2019 with a bachelor's degree in hospitality leadership.

"I would like to thank Jim Miller, the athletic department and the College as a whole for this opportunity," Saban said. "I'm thankful and thrilled to be surrounded by such great leadership. I've been working with the women's team for two years now and spent a lot of time at tournaments with the men's team this last year, and relationships take time, so it's great to have those relationships built up already.

"I couldn't be happier to have Coach Sellers and Coach (Jim) Alderfer staying around the program. I think we make a fantastic coaching team. Coach Sellers has done so much for both teams, and I'm thankful to continue to have his mentorship and support."

Saban becomes one of six women to serve as current head coaches of men's sports within the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) and is one of 28 women to serve as head coach of one of the 828 men's golf programs throughout all three divisions of the NCAA.

"It means a lot to be one of the few female head coaches for a men's program in the NCAA," Saban said. "I've had a lot of mentors to look up to over the years and I hope I can be one of those for other women in the golf industry, because there are so few of us. I hope to be a trailblazer in the industry and someone that girls and women in the sport can look up to."

Having spent the past two years being involved in all facets of the management of North Central's women's team has given Saban a head start on the recruitment, retention and fundraising efforts that are the lifeblood of a thriving collegiate athletic program.

"I would love for our programs to be known for providing an excellent student-athlete experience," she said. "It starts with recruiting and retaining. Getting out and recruiting at the junior level in Illinois and the surrounding areas is a huge priority this summer.

"We have fantastic student-athletes and it's been a real pleasure to work with them the past two years. We had an extremely successful Day of Giving this spring and we can't thank the alumni and supporters that we've had enough. It will be incredibly important to continue those fundraising efforts so we can continue to update facilities and provide competitive travel opportunities befitting a national-level program."

The Cardinals' men's and women's programs will open the 2021 fall season in early September.