ADRIAN, Mich. -- Al Sandifer will serve as the interim head coach for the Siena Heights men's and women's golf teams. He has previously served as head coach for the Saints' softball, men's golf and men's basketball programs.
Most recently, Sandifer was the Saints’ men's basketball head coach for four years after serving as interim head coach in 2006-07. In his four years, he led the Saints to a 61-64 overall record and 25-34 slate in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference before taking a medical leave of absence from the program in 2011-12.
"Coach Sandifer will do a great job as our interim men’s and women’s golf coach with the help of graduate assistant Brett Quitiquit," said SHU athletic director Fred Smith. "His past experience as our golf coach at SHU is invaluable and his willingness to help out these programs while going through his recovery is typical of his dedication to SHU and our student athletes."
Sandifer came to the Saints in 1976 as a freshman basketball recruit and has been a part of Siena Heights Athletics for parts of four decades. In 1978, he was named Siena Heights College’s Athlete of the Year. He was elected the Team MVP of the Saints after the 1977-78 season.
In 1991, Sandifer took the Siena Heights softball team to the NAIA Tournament and is still the winningest coach in the softball program’s history with 271 wins during his 10-year tenure. During his time as the softball coach, Sandifer was named NAIA District 23 Coach of the Year and Regional Coach of the Year. The Saints won three out of the four possible WHAC Championships (conference began in 1992) and Sandifer was named WHAC Coach of the Year three times.
Sandifer also spent three years at Adrian High School where he compiled a 52-18 record as the boys’ basketball coach. He was named Lenawee County Coach of the Year in 1999.
Sandifer served as an assistant coach for the SHU men’s basketball program for 20 seasons prior to taking on the head job. He is also currently the business manager for the athletic department. Sandifer runs the highly respected "Camp of Champions" each summer and founded the "Hoopster" program, which brings over 800 youngsters to campus each year. Sandifer and his wife Tami have two children, Christie and Curtis, and currently reside in Adrian.
Sandifer’s son Curtis is a member of the United States Army’s Third Infantry Regiment, otherwise known as the “Old Guard.” The Old Guard is responsible for guarding the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington, Va.