Jonathan Tsipis walked up to the podium as the head coach of the Wisconsin Badgers in the Nicholas-Johnson Pavilion Thursday afternoon wearing a blue button-down shirt accompanied by a striped red tie. Both were intentional on the part of Tsipis and, like any good shirt-tie combination, represent the strong cohesive identity he hopes the Badgers will have under his new regime.
The meaning of the tie is simple, as it is of course the primary color of his newest head-coaching job. The shirt, though, as Tsipis (Sip-iss) made clear, represents the blue-collar mentality the state of Wisconsin currently has and the Badgers are going to have in the future.
“Our team is going to be a team with an unmatched work ethic. I’ve got a blue dress-shirt on because of that blue-collar mentality,” Tsipis said. “We’re gonna be an unselfish group and most importantly we’re going to be a group that mirrors the community and the state of Wisconsin.”
Over the course of the nearly 30-minute press conference, bridging the product on the court with the state identity to form one uniform familial identity emerged as one of Tsipis’ goals for the program.
But for a program that both Athletic Director Barry Alvarez and Tsipis acknowledged Thursday as a “sleeping giant,” winning will be a central focus as well.
“A big part of this is where can we take the women’s basketball program. And I don’t have to go very far down the hall to see where women’s ice hockey has gone, where coach [Kelly Sheffield] has taken the women’s volleyball team,” Tsipis said. “It’s there. And I can tell you a big part of what we’re going to do here is reflective of the people of Wisconsin."
And for the past two days, prior to even being officially introduced as the Badgers’ head coach, Tsipis has already traveled around the state representing UW, holding two different in-house recruiting visits.
“He’s already gotten started. He’s been here two days and he’s been out seeing some of the top players in the state already,” Alvarez said before introducing his latest hire.
Tsipis was incredibly successful as the head coach of George Washington. He led the Colonials to a 92-38 record in his four seasons in the nation’s capital, winning two consecutive Atlantic-10 tournaments and taking the Colonials to two consecutive NCAA titles .
Finding someone who had prior successful head coaching experience was one of the key factors for Alvarez as he went through the hiring process. Additionally finding a candidate who could interact within the community was another important factor in the decision-making process. One thing that was not a factor in the decision-making process was gender.
“It didn’t come up at all. I wanted to hire the best coach we could hire. And I think we did that,” Alvarez said.
Tsipis becomes the first male coach in the 43-year history of the program, a fact he also underscored.
“I think as coach [Alvarez] said, a big part of Wisconsin women’s basketball is to put great role models in front of their team. I’m honored to be the first of something. But I think the more important thing is understanding the leadership, and the guidance, and the mentorship as a staff we’re going to be able to have with the young women,” Tsipis said. “I think you can talk with our current team right now and I think part of going through life is adjusting. I think they’ve had male head coaches, it’s part of a diversity of a staff.”
The exact names of people on his staff are unclear at this time, but Tsipis hopes when the recruiting window reopens at the end of April he will have his staff on board. One thing about his staff is certain though: it will include female coaches.
Having a male head coach, as rising sophomore forward Marsha Howard can attest, is not uncommon for female basketball players growing up.
“With me coming in, [former] coach [Bobbie] Kelsey was a big and major part of my commitment here. And to see her go was kind of tough. But to have a male role model as a coach now should be a little bit different,” Howard said. "Growing up I always had male coaches or either male coaches on staff until I got to Wisconsin it was all women. With a male coach it should be a different experience.”
“He seems so positive. And ready for the change that we’re all ready for,” senior Avyanna Young said. “We’re ready to learn how to win and grow as people.”
Young just completed her first season at Wisconsin after transferring from UW-Milwaukee. During the year, she voiced her praise for coach Kelsey and was grateful for the opportunity to play in Madison. Now though, she recognizes things have changed.
“The vibe changed, soon as he walked in the room, he was just always smiling. He just told us he would be consistent on the court off the court and he was gonna’ treat us like he would treat his daughter,” Young said.
Much like any good parent, maintaining patience with your child comes and goes. But much to the delight of Wisconsin women’s basketball program, Tsipis is not patient as it pertains to excellence at UW. He senses the “sleeping giant” that is the Wisconsin women’s basketball program has possibly woken up from its 43-year slumber.
“I am not patient when it comes to winning. I am committed to excellence,” Tsipis said. “And I am going to do everything in my power and have the young women that are gonna’ help be part of this Wisconsin program do that, because it’s so important we represent the state of Wisconsin in everything we do.”
