Lynn Kennedy took over as head coach of the Southern Oregon women's basketball program in July 2005, and it took just three years for Kennedy to get the Raiders back to the top of the conference.
Under Kennedy's leadership, SOU claimed the Cascade Collegiate Conference title in 2007-08 and advanced to the NAIA Division II National Tournament during the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons.
Kennedy compiled a 156-92 record through his first eight seasons at SOU. His win total ranks second in program history behind SOU Hall of Famer Shirley Huyett's 220 career wins.
Kennedy came to SOU from New Mexico Highlands University, where he transformed a NCAA Div. II program into a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) West Division champion, while also serving as an instructor in the exercise and sport sciences department.
Two years removed from a four-win campaign, Kennedy’s NMHU rebuilding job produced the first women’s basketball championship in Cowgirl history as a result of an 18-11 overall record. With a 14-player roster containing players from six different states (including five from Washington and Oregon), the Cowgirls finished on a nine-game home win streak, advanced to the league tournament semifinals and ranked among the Div. II leaders for scoring (73.3 points per game).
Prior to his arrival in Las Vegas, N.M., longtime Raider coach Huyett tapped Kennedy to serve as her top assistant at Idaho State University in 2001-02, and he assumed the head coach duties on an interim basis for the final seven games of the season.
Kennedy spent two years as an assistant at Eastern Washington University, and helped shape an Eagle program that posted back-to-back Big Sky Conference playoff appearances and finished with the fourth-highest aggregate grade point average in NCAA Division I basketball in 1999-2000.
Kennedy’s first head coaching position was at his alma mater, Northwest University, and he directed the Kirkland, Wash., team to the 1998-99 National Christian College Athletic Association West Regional tournament title and to the highest national tournament finish in school history (sixth).
Kennedy’s coaching career began in 1995 while serving for two seasons as the assistant coach for the women’s program at Northwest, followed by a one-year appointment as the boys’ basketball assistant at Lake Washington High School. His athletic administration experience includes a stint with the Seattle Seahawks football team at their former training facilities in Kirkland.
After growing up in Eugene and earning all-star honors as a prep at Cascade High School in Everett, Wash., Kennedy played two basketball seasons at Northwest Christian College prior to completing his playing career at Northwest.
The 1995 NU Business Administration graduate earned a master’s degree in Physical Education from Pacific Lutheran University in 1997 and an M.B.A. from New Mexico Highlands University in 2007.
Lynn and his wife, Amy, have two sons, Graycen and Parker.