One of the nation's most respected coaches, both on and off the playing floor, Jerry Wainwright enters his 16th season as a NCAA Division I head coach in 2009-10  and his fifth on the sidelines at DePaul. During his collegiate tenure, Wainwright has taken his teams to seven postseason tournaments including three NCAA berths and four NIT appearances.

A year ago, Wainwright guided the Blue Demons through what many called the toughest conference in the history of college basketball. DePaul posted just nine victories in 2008-09, but in the process looked to the future with lessons learned on and off the floor. The Blue Demons opened the season with four straight wins and finished by making the second round of the BIG EAST Championship after a first-round victory over Cincinnati at Madison Square Garden. DePaul's run in the BIG EAST Championship ended with a loss to Providence.

The 2007-08 campaign, his third in Lincoln Park, saw Wainwright helped engineer the program's best start ever in conference play and for the third straight season in his tenure with the Blue Demons, DePaul posted at least one victory over a Top 25 team. The schedule featured 17 games against post season teams (13 NCAA including eventual national champion Kansas), and individually, Draelon Burns was named second team All-BIG EAST Conference while Mac Koshwal and Dar Tucker were honored on the league's All-Rookie team. Cliff Clinkscales also led the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio.

In August 2008, Wainwright took part in "Operation Hardwood: Hoops with the Troops," a USO/Armed Forces Entertainment tour featuring a week-long basketball tournament and championship game with some of the best military players stationed overseas. He spent the week in Kuwait and Iraq.

In the summer of 2007, Wainwright served his nation as he was the head coach for the FIBA Americas U19 Championship for Men team in Serbia. Boasting a team that included future NBA draft picks Michael Beasley, Stephen Curry, Jonny Flynn and Donte Greene, Wainwright led the squad to the silver medal, the country's first medal in that tournament since 1999.

During the 2006-07 season Wainwright reached a career milestone, recording his 200th win as a head coach at the NCAA Division I level in a 93-74 victory over Chaminade at the EA Sports Maui Invitational on November 21, 2006.

Wainwright's second season (2006-07) at DePaul was filled with improvement throughout the season and exciting wins. Facing a schedule that featured 17 games against postseason teams including 11 NCAA Tournament opponents, the Blue Demons won 20 times and posted nine BIG EAST victories. DePaul also beat three teams ranked in the top 25 on the date of their game, including fifth-ranked Kansas, which was the program's first win over a top five team since 1999.

The 2006-07 squad earned a bid to the NIT and made the program's deepest postseason tournament run since 1990, reaching the quarterfinals after thrilling wins over Hofstra and at Kansas State. Individually, Sammy Mejia and Wilson Chandler were both named second team All-BIG EAST Conference while Burns was on the honorable mention list. Both Chandler (first round) and Mejia (second round) were picked during the annual NBA Draft.

His first season at the helm of the Blue Demons in 2005-06 saw Wainwright inherit the youngest DePaul squad in seven years and he steered it through the eighth-toughest schedule (according to Basketball Times) in the nation, including the program's initial season as a member of the rugged BIG EAST Conference.

Highlighting his rookie campaign with the Blue Demons were victories at then No. 16 Wake Forest (snapping the Demon Deacons' 21-game home winning streak), NCAA Tournament participants UAB, California, Seton Hall and Syracuse along with postseason participants Notre Dame and Creighton. The Blue Demons played 18 games against teams that reached postseason tournaments including 11 against NCAA Tournament squads.

Individually, Chandler was named a unanimous selection to the BIG EAST All-Rookie team while Mejia was twice named to the league's honor roll.

Another highlight of Wainwright's first season with the Blue Demons came in June when he was selected to serve as an assistant coach for USA Basketball's 2006 FIBA Americas U18 Championship for Men team. Along with Head Coach Lorenzo Romar (Washington) and fellow Assistant Coach Paul Hewitt (Georgia Tech), the trio helped the U.S. squad breeze through the tournament and qualify for the 2007 FIBA U19 World Championship which Wainwright would lead team USA into a year later.

Wainwright signed on with the Blue Demons after 11 successful seasons as a head coach, including the three years at Richmond and eight at UNC Wilmington.

Wainwright left his mark during his three seasons at Richmond, establishing the Spiders on the national stage as several team and individual accomplishments highlighted his tenure with the Atlantic 10 school.

In 2003-04 Wainwright brought Richmond to the NCAA Tournament, earning the program's second-ever at-large berth behind the nation's ninth-ranked defense. Along with the NCAA berth, a win at 10th-ranked Kansas sandwiched between road victories at Temple and Xavier were milestones of the season. After a spirited run through the A-10 Tournament, Wainwright's crew was rewarded for its tough schedule with an NCAA berth. The Spiders fell to Wisconsin, 76-64, in the opening round at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee.

In Wainwright's first season with the Spiders he used a nationally-ranked defense to post 16 wins and a berth to the NIT, where they fell at Providence in the opening round.

Prior to taking the reins at Richmond, Wainwright enjoyed a highly successful eight-year run as the head coach at UNC Wilmington.

Wainwright compiled a 136-103 record during his time in Wilmington, and he piloted the Seahawks to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances and two NIT berths.

The program reached unprecedented heights during Wainwright's tenure as he guided the Seahawks to their first post-season berth, first 20-win season (1997-98) and their first win in the NCAA Tournament, a 93-89 triumph over Southern California in Sacramento during the 2000 "Big Dance."

His resume at Wilmington also included the program capturing three Colonial Athletic Association regular season titles and two CAA tournament crowns. The Seahawks' averaged nearly 17 wins per season under his tutelage and were ranked nationally in team defense each of his eight campaigns.

A year after taking over the UNCW program in 1994, Wainwright built the seventh-best schedule in the country. The Seahawks suffocating defense was ranked fifth in the nation in 1995-96, allowing just 58.4 points per game.

Wainwright orchestrated one of the most memorable campaigns in UNCW history during the 1999-00 season when the Seahawks grabbed their first CAA Championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in the history of the program.

In 2000-01, Wainwright earned CAA Coach of the Year honors for the second time.

The Seahawks posted their most impressive season ever in 2001-02, compiling a 22-9 mark, capturing the conference crown outright for the second straight season and advancing to their second NCAA Tournament. Wainwright's team finished among the nation's best in team defense, ranking 17th in the country.

Wainwright has touched every step on the coaching ladder during his run to the head job at DePaul.

Prior to arriving at Wilmington, Wainwright spent nine seasons as an assistant coach at Wake Forest under both Bob Staak (1986-89) and Dave Odom (1989-94). Wainwright helped build the Demon Deacons' program into a consistent national power.

While in Winston-Salem, Wainwright helped Wake Forest make a school-record four straight NCAA Tournament berths and register back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time in a decade. Besides on-the-court coaching, he assisted in recruiting NBA draft picks Chris King (Seattle), Rodney Rogers (Denver), Randolph Childress (Detroit) and Tim Duncan (San Antonio).

Wainwright broke into the college coaching ranks in 1984-85, serving a one-year stint at Xavier under Staak before moving to Wake Forest when Staak took the Demon Deacon head job.

Wainwright began his coaching career in the prep ranks at Montrose High School in Denver where he led his team to the state tournament and was named Colorado District Coach of the Year in 1974-75.

He then returned to his home state serving as an assistant coach at East Leyden High School in suburban Franklin Park, Ill. In his four seasons with the Eagles, Wainwright helped them compile a 104-4 record.

Wainwright would then go on to serve as the head coach at Highland Park High School in Highland Park, Ill., directing the program to the state's "Sweet 16" in 1981-82. He was twice named the district Coach-of-the-Year while coaching the Giants.

A 1968 graduate of Colorado College in Colorado Springs, Colo., Wainwright earned his graduate degree from the University of Denver in 1971.

A native of Berwyn, Ill., Wainwright is married to the former Debbie Tedesco. Jerry has two sons, Brett and Scott. In addition, he has three grandchildren, Alexis, Brett and Gracie.