Dale Parker enters his third season as an assistant coach on the women’s basketball team. Parker became a full-time assistant prior to the 2007-08 season after serving one year as a volunteer assistant coach.
During the 2007-08 season, Parker helped Cornell to a record-breaking campaign, as Cornell won its first-ever Ivy League championship in women’s basketball. The Big Red closed out the year with a school record for wins (20), as well as setting records for most conference wins (11), points scored (1889), 3-pointers made (200) and assists (436) in a season. After winning its first-ever Ivy League title, the Big Red faced No. 1 Connecticut in the first round of the 2007-08 NCAA tournament. Thanks to Parker’s work with the team’s forwards, junior Jeomi Maduka and senior Moina Snyder earned All-Ivy honors. Maduka was named the Ivy League Player of the Year, the first-ever Cornell women’s basketball player to earn that distinction, and was a unanimous first-team All-Ivy pick, while Snyder was named honorable mention.
In his first year with the Big Red, Parker helped the team to a 12-15 record, tied for the fifth-most wins in program history. The team also boasted an 8-6 Ivy League record, tying the mark for the most conference wins by the women’s basketball program in a single season, and finished the year ranked third in the conference, its best Ivy League finish since the 2001-02 team tied for second place. Parker also helped develop Maduka and Snyder, as the forward tandem was named second-team and honorable mention All-Ivy, respectively.
Parker’s responsibilities with the Big Red include all facets of coaching, including on-court instruction, working with the team’s forwards, scouting opponents, recruiting and assisting with both practice and game planning.
After playing for both Imperial Valley College and Valdosta State College, Parker spent four years playing professionally in the Latin American League in South America. During that time, he played for teams in Venezuela, Argentina, Chile and Paraguay. Parker remained in Paraguay following his playing career and began coaching at the American School of Asuncion, while teaching physical education and English. Upon returning to the U.S. in 1996, Parker began a two-year coaching stint at Imperial Valley College.
Since 1998, Parker has worked in various social work capacities, including as a case worker for Volunteers of America and as a residential manager at a home for special needs occupants. He spent three years working as a special needs teacher at McNair High School in Decatur, Ga., prior to relocating to LaJolla, Calif., where he took a job as the Director of Security at Pacific Corporate Group.
Parker is the husband of Big Red women’s volleyball coach Deitre Collins-Parker.
