Warburton replaces Paur as head women’s basketball coach starting in 2015-16

This archived article was written by: Masi Steel

Chelsey Warburton, head women’s volleyball coach at Utah State University Eastern, is stepping down as the volleyball coach, but stepping into the head women’s basketball coach position.
Warburton was born into an athletic family with all of her sisters playing as collegiate athletes with promising basketball careers. Warburton played basketball at Carbon High School, College of Eastern Utah for a year and then transferred to play D-1 basketball at Weber State University. When she finished college, she played pro basketball in Amsterdam.
“I love sports, but basketball is the sport I excelled at. I enjoy everything about it, I always have. It is much of a mental game as it is a physical and emotional game.” Warburton said why she chooses basketball as her sport of choice, “If I was not coaching I would either still be playing basketball or working in the criminal justice field.”
Talking about her plan for her first year as head coach, Warburton said, “The plan is to be as competitive as we possibly can next year. Coming off a great season this year and hopefully carry it over to the upcoming season. The SWAC conference is tough; there is no easy game. It’s tough games continuously against nationally ranked teams.”
She said, “I am excited for this coaching opportunity. Being an assistant for Coach David Paur has been an honor and an experience I will always remember. He has a love for the game that everyone can see. Coach Paur pushes his players to excel on the court as well as off the court, and wants them to enjoy the game. Coach Paur and Coach Dave Allen were great to coach with. I couldn’t have asked for two better people to work with and learn from. I am grateful for their input over the last couple years, and also for allowing me to coach alongside of them.”
The players are happy for Warburton, but will miss Paur.
Kali Pei said, “Honestly, I’m very excited. Chelsey is a great coach and she’s been here helping out and knows how things work. Next year might be different in a few areas, but I think it will be good. I can’t wait to see how things go.”
Shania Hurst said, “I’m sad Coach Paur isn’t coaching again, but I’m excited to play for Chelsey. She is a smart coach and really knows how to teach basketball.”