Sac State officially introduced Mark Campbell as the new head coach for the Women’s basketball team Wednesday, becoming the program’s sixth head coach.

The former University of Oregon assistant coach, who helped lead the Ducks to multiple final fours, had a lot to be thankful for in his opening statement to the presser.

“This is a truly a dream come true for me,” a teary-eyed Campbell said. 

Campbell also laid out a clear vision for the team’s style of play under his charge.

“We’re going to play a very European style of basketball, we’re going to run a lot of pick and roll action,” Campbell said. “I’m going to oversee our defense, we’re going to be highly disciplined, and we’re going to be very tough and hard nosed.”

After thanking the student athletes on the women’s team for enduring a challenging 2021 season, in which the team won just three games, Sac State athletic director Mark Orr discussed a meeting he said he had with the team prior to the hiring of Campbell where he asked the team what characteristics and values they were looking for in the next coach.

Orr said the team frequently mentioned “team culture.”

“As we went through this process, I’m very proud to say, to our women’s basketball student athletes, we met that criteria tenfold, and checked all the boxes,” Orr said.

Campbell vowed to his players and the Hornet community that this program will be reshaped and reformed to be the best it can be.

“I’m going to work incredibly hard, and our staff is going to work incredibly hard, to build a championship culture here,” Campbell said. “My stops at Pepperdine, my stops at St. Mary’s, stops at Oregon State, my stops at the University of Oregon, the last 13 years have prepared me for this opportunity.”