After spending two seasons on the bench as an assistant coach, Eric Simpson was named the seventh head coach in Loyola women's basketball history on April 6, 2009.

"I am extremely excited and grateful to have the opportunity to lead the Loyola women's basketball program," said Simpson. "Having been educated at St. Ignatius and through some of my previous work experiences, I feel very comfortable working within the Jesuit structure that is in place here. I am very fortunate to be at a place with such supportive senior administrators and look forward to working with a group of successful and committed coaches within the Loyola family."

"Eric brings many positives to our program and I am confident that he will be very successful as the head coach at Loyola," said Director of Intercollegiate Athletics, Dr. John Planek. "First and foremost, he has a strong Jesuit background and understands the greater mission of the University and department. His experience as a four-year Division I basketball player at Northwestern gave him a glimpse into the world of collegiate athletics and he has cultivated that knowledge during his time at Loyola. Eric is familiar with the Horizon League and has many connections and contacts within the Chicagoland area that will help the advancement of our program."

Simpson earned his place on Shannon Reidy's staff after a one-year stint as the Director of Basketball Operations for Loyola's men's basketball team, which helped him familiarize himself with Loyola and the Horizon League. He has 10 years of coaching at the high school level under his belt, serving as an assistant coach at Loyola Academy from 1994-96 before moving on to head sophomore and assistant varsity coach at his alma mater, St. Ignatius, from 1999-2001. From there, Simpson took over as athletic director and head boys basketball coach at Marquette Catholic High School in Michigan City, Ind., performing those duties from 2001-05.

"This program has a group of talented, competitive and hard-working student-athletes that I have really come to know and respect and I am eager to work with them," continued Simpson. "I am also looking forward to continuing to build upon established relationships with both high school and AAU coaches in the Chicagoland area, the Midwest and beyond and will work tirelessly to help raise the bar for the Loyola program."

Simpson began his coaching career after wrapping up his four-year playing career at Northwestern, where he was a teammate of current Loyola men's basketball assistant coach Pat Baldwin. He graduated from the Evanston institution in 1994 with a Bachelor of Arts in history.