Stan Benge, one of the most well respected coaches in Indiana High School Basketball history, left his post as the head girls basketball coach at Ben Davis High School to join the IUPUI women’s basketball staff as an assistant coach on June 13, 2011, and the 2012-13 season will be his second season with the program.
"It is a great day for IUPUI basketball as we welcome Stan Benge to our coaching staff,” Parkinson said at the time of Benge's hiring. “Stan knows what it takes to create and sustain a successful program, which will be vital as we continue to build towards a Summit League Championship.”
“It was definitely a tough decision to leave Ben Davis, but I was looking for a new challenge and I believe we have a great opportunity to do some great things at IUPUI under Coach Parkinson,” Benge said. “There is a ton of potential here at IUPUI and I’m excited to begin working with the ladies.”
In 25 years at Ben Davis High School, Benge posted an impressive winning percentage of .820 (519-126) and captured five semi-state and 11 regional titles patrolling the sidelines. He led the Lady Giants to four Indiana High School Athletic Association state championships and one national championship in 2009.
His 519 wins are unparalleled in program history and his long list of coaching accolades began in 1990 when he was named the District 3 Coach of the Year, before repeating the distinction two years later in 1992.
However, Benge earned national recognition in 2009 when he was named the 2009 Naismith Coach of the Year and USA Today Coach of the Year for girls basketball after leading his squad to a perfect 30-0 record culminating in his third state title and first national championship. One year later, Benge was named the 2010 MaxPreps.com National Coach of the Year while leading Ben Davis to its second straight state championship.
In a quarter century on the sidelines at Ben Davis, Benge coached 11 Indiana All-Stars, 11 all-state, and four All-American selections. Among that group of all-state and all-America honorees is Shyra Ely, who was one of the nation's most coveted recruits coming out of Ben Davis in 2001. During her senior campaign under Benge, Ely was a Parade, Nike, and Street & Smith All-American, the Gatorade National Player of the Year, and the Naismith Award winner. Following a four-year career at Tennessee, Ely went on to become the 14th selection of the 2005 WNBA Draft.
Benge mentored McDonald’s All-American Bria Goss, who also picked up Gatorade Player of the Year honors for Indiana and led the Lady Giants to a Regional Final appearance and a 23-1 mark in 2011.
In the spring of 2012, Benge was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame for his significant contributions to Indiana high school basketball as part of the 11th Women’s Induction Class.
Benge began his career at Roncalli High School as an assistant coach for both boys basketball and track. Throughout his tenure in Wayne Township, he has also coached girls golf, girls track, boys cross country, and middle school girls basketball.
After graduating from Ben Davis High School in 1972, Benge attended Marian College where he was a four-year letterwinner in basketball and was named team MVP during his sophomore campaign.
Stan and his wife Shirley, who teaches third grade at North Wayne Elementary, reside on the west side of Indianapolis.
