SAN FRANCISCO – University of San Francisco Director of Athletics Joan McDermott is pleased to announce the addition of Linda Lappe to her senior administration team. Lappe will serve as the Senior Associate Athletic Director, SWA for the Dons. 
 
This is the second tour of duty at USF for the native of Morning Sun, Iowa. Lappe was here previously as an Associate Head Coach under head coach Molly Goodenbour in Goodenbour's first season of 2016-17. In her new role, Lappe will oversee the athletic performance and internal operations.
 
"I am thrilled to bring Linda back to The Hilltop," said McDermott. "She is a phenomenal leader that brings a broad spectrum of talents from her time as both a coach and administrator, moreover, she has experience in a wide variety of conferences and organizations. She will be invaluable to our program as we continue to build and compete for championships."
 
Lappe spent the previous two years as the Senior Vice President of Competition and Regional Services at Special Olympics Colorado. While there, she oversaw community programming that included 22 sports during four seasons in four regions throughout the state of Colorado which culminated into state competitions in each sport. 
 
While at Special Olympics Colorado, she assisted with the implementation of sports programming and worked with coaches, volunteers, and families to insure a quality experience for over 25,000 athletes around the state.  Other duties included the oversight of health, fitness and wellness as well as coach development.   In 2018, Special Olympics Colorado hosted over 1,200 free health screenings for athletes with intellectual disabilities in the areas of dentistry, podiatry, audiology, optometry, physical therapy, and health education.
 
Prior to that, as Goodenbour's associated head coach, she helped guide the 2016-17 Dons to an 11-7 conference record, their most wins in the WCC since the 1996-97 season.
 
From 2010-16, Lappe served as the head coach at her alma mater at the University of Colorado. During Lappe's time in Boulder, the Buffaloes compiled a 105-92 overall record, made one NCAA Tournament appearance (2013) and three Postseason WNIT showings (2011-12; '14). In the classroom, the Buffaloes excelled under Lappe. The women's basketball team's grade point average rose 50 points, from 2.49 when she took over to 2.99 for the Fall '15 semester, with a cumulative GPA at 3.02, over 40 points higher from the team she inherited.
 
Lappe's first head coaching position came at Metropolitan State College in Denver, where she guided the Roadrunners to top-three finishes and winning records in the Eastern Division of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference in each of her three seasons from 2007-10. She also served as an assistant coach at Drake (2003-06) and Colorado State (2006-07) before landing her first head coaching job at Metro State.
 
A graduate from Colorado, Lappe helped Colorado reach national prominence as a standout guard for the Buffaloes from 1998-2003. A two-year captain and All-Big 12 honorable mention selection, Lappe averaged 7.8 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 115 career games. A native of Morning Sun, Iowa, Lappe graduated from Winfield-Mount Union High School.

"It's exciting to be back at the University of San Francisco and I am looking forward to working with all the students, faculty, and staff here.  I feel very fortunate to have had many opportunities in my career to learn from great leaders and Joan is one of the best. There is no doubt that she will continue to move the athletics department in a positive direction and I feel motivated and energized to assist and serve in any way needed to help our coaches and student-athletes surpass their goals."