Rick Ray is in his fifth season as an assistant coach at Purdue.
Ray's arrival in West Lafayette coincided with the rejuvenation of the Boilermakers' program, as Purdue has won at least 22 games in each of his four seasons on the bench and its 103 wins in his tenure are the most in program history for a four-year period. Ray has helped coach the Boilermakers to four-straight NCAA Tournament appearances, including a spot in the Sweet 16 in each of the last two years.
Prior to joining the Boilermaker staff, Ray spent two seasons at Northern Illinois as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. While at NIU, Ray helped guide the Huskies to the first Mid-American Conference West Division title in program history.
Ray spent seven seasons as a member of Royce Waltman[apos]s staff at Indiana State from 1997-03, helping ISU to a Missouri Valley Conference regular-season title in 2000 and an MVC Tournament championship in 2001. The Sycamores' 2000 league crown was the program[apos]s first outright conference championship in 21 years.
Before his seven seasons in Terre Haute, Ray performed a two-year stint at the University of Nebraska-Omaha as a graduate assistant, helping turn a 6-21 program into a 14-13 team in just one season.
The Kansas City, Kan., native began his collegiate playing career at Labette Community College in Parsons, Kan., before transferring to Grand View College in Des Moines, Iowa. An All-American Scholar-Athlete and honorable mention all-conference performer, Ray served as team captain for the Vikings as a senior in 1993.
Ray received a bachelor's degree in applied mathematics and secondary education from Grand View in 1994, and earned a master's degree in athletic administration from Nebraska-Omaha in 1997. He has a daughter, Katriece.