The North Park athletic department introduced Tom Slyder as its new head men's basketball coach Tuesday afternoon. 

"We are excited to have a person of Coach Slyder's energy, vision and persuasive ability leading the Viking men's basketball program, " stated athletic director Jack Surridge.

Slyder, who comes from nearby Anderson University in Anderson, Indiana, succeeds coach Dylan Howard, who accepted a position as an assistant men's basketball coach at Morehead State University in Northern Kentucky.

“This is a very exciting opportunity,” Slyder said. “I really believe that North Park is a place where I was called to be and really felt welcomed here throughout the process. The University has a lot of selling points and I really believe that the goal is to get North Park back to a place where basketball has been very good.”

Slyder served as the head coach at Anderson University for the past seven years, where he led the team to a 102-84 record, including a Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship in the 2009-10 season, which earned the Ravens an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III National tournament where they defeated No.6-seeded St. Thomas University in the first round. In addition, the 2009-10 squad's record of 23-6 earned Slyder HCAC and Mideast Region Coach of the Year, and it was the Ravens first conference title since the 1981-82 season.

“North Park has a national reputation being in the CCIW,” Slyder said. “As the head coach at Anderson, we competed against CCIW schools very well.  The reputation of the CCIW getting three schools in the national tournament on a regular basis is very appealing. Certainly we have a long way to get there but it's challenge I'm looking forward to.”

In addition to being a successful head coach and assistant coach at Anderson for the past 19 years, Slyder was also an accomplished athlete at Anderson as a four-year letter winner for the men's basketball team from 1984-88. He earned team MVP honors as a senior and shot a blistering 60 percent from the three-point line. He holds the single-season record in steals with 68 and ranks second all-time at Anderson in that category.  Slyder finished his career as a Raven with 929 points and 380 assists, a mark which ranks eighth all-time at AU.

“Chicago is a world-class city and the University's location is phenomenal,” Slyder said. “The people who make North Park what it is are exceptional and my family just fell in love with it. This is where we're supposed to be.” 

Slyder is a native of Ansonia, Ohio. He and his wife Kathy have three children: Taylor, Mallory and Katie.

North Park finished the 2011-12 season with a 6-19 overall record and a 2-12 mark in the CCIW.