Mark Sundquist, the second-longest tenured coach in George Fox University men’s basketball history, enters his 12th season as the Bruins’ head coach after re-establishing the Bruins as one of the most competitive teams in the rugged Northwest Conference. 

Sundquist was named to the George Fox post on August 1, 2000, replacing 18-year veteran Mark Vernon, the winningest coach in school history, after a national search that ended ironically in the Bruins' backyard!  During the 1999-2000 season, he had served as the boys' basketball coach at Newberg High School, only eight blocks from George Fox, where he led a very young team that had only one returning player to a 5-18 record.  Prior to that, he had spent two seasons as the boys' basketball coach at Woodburn (Ore.) High School.

With little time to recruit, Sundquist’s 2000-01 team fashioned an 8-16 record against bigger, more talented opponents with a hustling brand of basketball and some incredible outside shooting, finishing second in the nation in three-point field goals per game (9.92).  Still overmatched in size and skills in his second year, the Bruins went 5-20.  While the team records the next two years were only 7-18, the improvement in the quality of play was obvious, signaling that it would not be long before all the pieces would fall into place for Sundquist and the Bruins.

The 2004-05 season was the culmination of Sundquist’s rebuilding effort as the Bruins posted their best season in 14 years.  With an 18-7 record, their first winning season in six years, the Bruins won the most games since the 1991-92 team went 24-11, and posted the best winning percentage (.720) since an .800 mark (24-6) in 1990-91.  They were second in the conference at 13-3, their highest finish since joining the NWC in 1995, equaled their record for NWC wins, and had the best winning percentage (.813).  George Fox led the league in attendance, averaging 1,145 per home game, and set a single-game crowd record with 2,400 for a Homecoming win over Whitworth on Feb. 5.  Sundquist was named NWC Coach of the Year for the Bruins' incredible turnaround.

The success continued in 2005-06 as the Bruins went 16-9 record and finished fourth in the conference with at 9-7.  Led by Second Team All-West Region guard Aaron Schmick, George Fox ranked third nationally in free throw percentage (.782), 15th in three-point field goal percentage (.407), 37th in scoring (81.1 ppg), and 38th in field goal percentage (.484).  They led the NWC in three-point and free throw shooting and blocked shots per game (3.24).

Over the past five seasons, George Fox has remained a team that cannot be counted out of any game.  During that time, the Bruins have knocked off two nationally-ranked NCAA Division III teams and won four games against NAIA powers.  In 2009-10, the Bruins went 13-14, tied for third in the NWC, and made only their second appearance in the NWC Tournament since joining the league for the 1995-96 season.  In the NWC playoffs, the Bruins scored a thrilling win at Linfield in the semifinals before being eliminated just one win away from their first NCAA National Tournament berth by the 5th-ranked Whitworth Pirates on the road.  Last year, the Bruins were only 8-17, but eight of their setbacks were by five points or less or in overtime.

Sundquist takes an 11-year record at George Fox of 111-165 (.402) into the 2011-12 season.  He is the second-winningest coach in Bruins history, trailing only Vernon’s 318-218 record (1982-2000).

Born on Nov. 24, 1965, in St. Helens, Oregon, Sundquist grew up in Hillsboro, Oregon, where he attended Glencoe High School.  He was recruited by George Fox but elected to attend Seattle Pacific University, his mother's alma mater, where he earned four letters from 1984-88, playing shooting guard for three seasons alongside point guard Ritchie McKay, ex-Oregon State University coach and now the head coach at the University of New Mexico.

Sundquist led the Falcons in free throw percentage as a junior (.818) and a senior (.817), with his career mark of .819 ranking 7th all-time at SPU. He was team captain and MVP as a senior, averaging 14.1 points a game while shooting a team-best .514 from the field and .482 from three-point range, a school record at the time. In an 83-78 overtime loss at Division I Stanford that season, he scored a career-high 33 points while setting new records, since broken, for three-pointers made (7) and attempted (12) in a game. He was named All-Great Northwest Conference and All-NCAA Division II District VIII as a senior.

Sundquist graduated in 1989 with a bachelor's degree in social sciences/secondary education. During his last year at SPU, he served as assistant women's basketball coach. After three years coaching in the junior high ranks, he spent the 1992-97 seasons as an assistant for the boys' basketball program at Glencoe before taking the Woodburn job.

Fulfilling one of his fondest dreams when he stepped into a college coaching role, Sundquist says, “The George Fox job is a great fit for me.  I like the comfortable Christian atmosphere, in a good conference, with wonderful facilities."

Sundquist, 46, is married to the former Sara Thompson of Bellevue, Wash., and they have one son, Jake, age 14 1/2, and a daughter, Kaitlyn, age 11. The Sundquists attend Countryside Community Church in Sherwood.

Mark Sundquist’s Coaching Record (2000-11)

Overall

Honors

2004-05 – Northwest Conference Coach of the Year

Milestones

1st win - 86-76 at Warner Pacific, 11/18/2000

50th win - 87-82 vs. Corban, 12/6/2005

100th win - 103-90 vs. Whitman, 2/5/2010

Sundquist vs. All Opponents