CLARKSVILLE — Jordyn and Josh Ferrell chose the University of the Ozarks as the college they wanted to attend and where they wanted to continue their basketball careers.
The University of the Ozarks added another member of the Ferrell family when their father, David, was announced as the new men’s basketball coach at a news conference on Wednesday.
The elder Ferrell said the thought of coaching at the University of the Ozarks probably started a couple of years back, but acknowledged the whirlwind process is a little surreal.
Ferrell File
Here is David Ferrell’s career coaching record and winning percentage, including specifically at West Fork:
Record^Winning Percentage^Years
510-202^.716^24
458-176^.733^21 at West Fork
“With Jordyn playing here, we never missed a home game,” Ferrell said. “We fell in love with the university. I saw potential in this job, but I never thought about when the job might come open.
“God truly works in mysterious ways. If you had told me a couple of months ago this was going to happen, I would have probably told you that you were crazy.”
But Ferrell said after a couple of phone interviews and a series of interviews on-campus with the search committee last week, he was ecstatic about the opportunity.
“I was sold already, but coming out of that with the search committee that was unbelievable,” Ferrell said. “I felt like I was home.”
Ferrell will be working closely with his son and daughter since Jordyn, who finished her basketball eligibility this year, was hired as the Lady Eagles assistant women’s basketball coach. Josh, an incoming freshman, will continue to play for his father as he has for the past 10 years.
“David brings instant credibility and Arkansas back to our program,” University of Ozark athletic director Jimmy Clark said. “If you look at our roster, our previous coach’s connections were in Texas. I said that we haven’t had this much local interest in the program in 10 years. That’s one of the things in the search we were looking for.
“David’s Arkansas ties and his connections were definitely something that set him above the rest. The learning curve he will have is the recruiting part. But coaching is coaching and he did an outstanding job at the high school level.”
Ferrell said West Fork, where he racked up 458 of his 510 high school coaching victories over the past 21 years, will always maintain a special place for he and his family. But he just knew it was time to for a change.
“It’s cliche and I’ve heard lots of people say when they get out of coaching that they just knew it was time,” Ferrell said. “I just thought it was time. When I started talking with the University of Ozarks officials about this job I got excited and I’m more excited now.
“West Fork will always be a special place. I played there. My wife played there. All three of my kids graduated there. I do bleed black and gold, but I’m going to try to mix a little purple in there now.”