Laurie Melum continues her long association with the Jackrabbit women’s basketball program as she enters her eighth season as assistant coach at South Dakota State University.

Melum played an instrumental role in the development of the Jackrabbit women’s basketball program into a championship-caliber team at the NCAA Division II level and has helped direct a seamless transition into the Division I ranks by serving as recruiting coordinator. Melum’s recruiting has allowed the Jackrabbits to attract a number of top in-state high school recruits throughout the D-I transition, while continuing to secure commitments from top-level players throughout the Upper Midwest.

During her time with the Jackrabbits, SDSU has compiled a 189-60 overall record and qualified for postseason play five times — three consecutive NCAA Division II Elite Eight appearances from 2002-04 and back-to-back Women’s NIT berths at the Division I level in 2007 and 2008.

She also provides on-court instruction for the Jackrabbit backcourt players. In working with the team’s guards, Melum guided the development of 2006 Division I Defensive Player of the Year Heather Sieler and WNBA second-round draft pick Megan Vogel.

Melum’s other duties with the team have included monitoring the team’s academic progress. In each of the last five years and six times overall the Jackrabbits have been recipients of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association’s Academic Top 25 Honor Roll. Since moving to Division I, SDSU has placed no worse than second for team grade-point average among its D-I counterparts and has led all levels of women’s college basketball in team GPA each of the past three seasons. In addition, Jackrabbit players have received numerous academic all-conference and academic all-Independent honors, with both Sieler and Vogel earning NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship recognition.

A Rapid City native and graduate of Stevens High School, Melum played four years at Augustana, earning all-North Central Conference and academic all-NCC honors as a senior in 1997. In NCC career statistics, Melum still ranks fifth on the charts for three-pointers with 150, eighth in three-point attempts, 358, and ninth in three-point percentage, .419.

Melum continued with the Viking women’s basketball program as a student assistant while completing a degree in elementary education in 1998.

Prior to coming to SDSU, Melum served as head volleyball coach and assistant girls’ basketball coach at West Central High School in Hartford. She also coached the Dakota Blue, a club basketball team featuring some of the top South Dakota high school players, for three summers. The Dakota Blue team won the 2000 Miss Basketball National Championship.