On April 23, former Greyhound player and assistant basketball coach Paul Corsaro was announced as the new head men’s basketball coach for the University of Indianapolis, becoming the 13th coach in the program’s history. The position became available on April 7 after former Head Coach Stan Gouard resigned. Corsaro said that he was not expecting the job to open up.
“I didn’t know this was going to happen, but when it did, it was like, wow, I wasn’t sure in my wildest dreams that this position would be open this early in my coaching career,” Corsaro said. “So yes, it was my dream job. I wasn’t sure when this opportunity was going to come, but I’m so thankful [and] so blessed that it came available and that [I] was able to be chosen for the position.”
Corsaro is an Indianapolis native and attended Roncalli High School before playing both football and basketball at UIndy, according to the UIndy press release. He said that he loves the area and it would mean a lot to him to bring success to UIndy.
“I love Indianapolis and our university. The special thing about the University of Indianapolis, we bear our city’s name, the capital of our state,” Corsaro said. “I’m very, very proud of my roots [from] where I come from.”
According to a press release from UIndy, Corsaro has spent the last two years as an assistant coach for the Purdue University Fort Wayne Mastodons, helping the team amass 32 wins over the past two seasons. Prior to that, he worked under Gouard at UIndy as an assistant coach for six years, according to Purdue University Fort Wayne Athletics. Gouard said he is happy to have Corsaro as his successor, according to the press release.
“Paul [Corsaro] gave his heart and soul to me, our program, the community, and UIndy for nine years. He was a vital part of the successes we had during his tenure as a student-athlete and assistant coach,” Gouard said in the press release. “He made our program better every day with his love and passion for UIndy. I am certain that he will make UIndy and the community better.”
According to Corsaro, one of his first goals as the new head coach is to establish a relationship with the team here at UIndy. He said that he has done Zoom calls with the team regularly to establish that connection, team expectations, and to make sure everyone is comfortable with the change.
“The expectations of our program need to be in alignment with the university as a whole and with our athletic department—and those things aren’t changing,” Corsaro said. “Fortunately for me, I lived that as a student-athlete, I was able to help guide student-athletes in that [the expectations] as an assistant coach under Coach Gouard. So I had an understanding of what that is.”
According to Corsaro, it may be difficult to continue the success the team has had in the past but the goal is to win.
“From a winning standpoint: compete for the GLVC championship, compete for national championships,” Corsaro said. “It’s easier said than done in year one, but I don’t care, I have too much pride in this program, in this athletic department and university for that not to meet the expectations.”
Corsaro said that he has large shoes to fill in because of the program that Gouard has established at UIndy. He said that he has learned a lot from Gouard. When it was announced that he was going to be the new head coach, Gouard gave him a call.
“He [Gouard] and I spent about 30 minutes on the phone telling each other how we feel about each other, and he and I have a family relationship. I tell everybody all the time that he’s filled several roles for me,” Corsaro said. “…. Outside of family members, there’s probably not another person that I spent more time with or that I’m closer with than Coach Gouard. So this is truly an honor.”
