The University of Akron's women's basketball program is looking to turn its fortunes around.

And the Zips believe Jodi Kest is the coach to do just that.

The 1984 Slippery Rock University graduate was named Akron's newest coach in May.

She arrived after coachingTexas A&M-Corpus Christi to a 73-40 record in four years.

"I came to Akron because I saw an opportunity to build a program," Kest said. "This program has had just two winning seasons in the past 20 years."

The Zips are coming off a 5-23 mark last year.

"I was also very impressed with the (Mid-American Conference). Plus, I'm now only 30 minutes from my family," added Kest, who grew up in a suburb of Cleveland.

Kest's head-coaching career began in 1986 at Division III Wilkes University in northeastern Pennsylvania.

"I was just 24 years old when I got that job," said Kest, now 44. "I'm sure I wasn't ready for it, even though at the time I thought I was."

Wilkes compiled a 17-29 record in Kest's first two years before going 16-10 and qualifying for the conference playoffs for the first time in program history during he third campaign.

Beginning in 1990, Kest had assistant coaching tenures at the University of Maine, Cleveland State, Nevada and Cal Tech before becoming the head coach at Gannon University for six years (1996-2002).

She coached Gannon to the NCAA Division II tournament three times and ended her stay with the most wins in the program's history (105).

Her 14 seasons as a head coach have yielded an overall record of 226-153, giving her a winning percentage of .596.

For Kest, coaching has been the fulfillment of a lifelong dream.

"I knew at a young age that I wanted to be a coach," she said. "I can remember going to basketball camps as a kid. I just had a passion for it.

"I grew up playing sports," she continued. "Football, baseball, basketball, you name it. I had a brother that was three years older than me. Wherever he went, I tagged along. I grew up playing against boys and I learned to be aggressive."

Her backyard experience helped Kest when she arrived at Slippery Rock, where she played shooting guard and small forward. She led The Rock in scoring three straight years, including a career-high of 19.8 points per game in her senior season of 1983-84.

Kest left Slippery Rock with career totals of 1,289 points and 540 rebounds. and was inducted into the SRU Athletic Hall of Fame in 1994.

"I loved Slippery Rock," Kest said. "It was a sports- oriented university. And I loved being around people who loved sports as much as I did."

Another thing Kest loves is a good challenge, and she's looking forward to the one in front of her at Akron.

Kest points out that one positive is the homegrown talent she has to pick from.

"Ohio is one of the best states, recruiting-wise. ... Our main objective is to keep the best players in Akron at home," she said.

<I>This is one in a series of articles on Slippery Rock University graduates who have moved on to athletic careers elsewhere.</I>