PORT ANGELES — Peter Stewart’s basketball life bounced him all over the globe the past two decades.
Now, the longtime Peninsula College men’s basketball coach and his family get to go home.
Stewart was selected from a pool of approximately 120 candidates to coach the Minot State University men’s basketball team, the North Dakota school announced Monday.
“It’s just the right opportunity at the right time,” Stewart said during a telephone interview Tuesday while standing on a putting green in Minot, N.D.
“It wasn’t about leaving [Port Angeles]. It was about an opportunity to get back home.
“We kind of think it’s just one blessing moving into another.”
This was the second time Stewart was in the running for the Minot State job, having been a finalist the last time it opened in 1997.
He also once served as an assistant coach there.
Stewart was also the runner-up for the open head coaching position at the University of Mary (Bismarck, N.D.) last year.
“Peter’s an outstanding person,” Minot State athletic director Rick Hedberg told the Minot Daily News.
“He’s got a great personality that connects well with young people, with community members, with booster members . . . that’s a big part of what we’re trying to do within our program.”
The job not only means an increase in pay and a move up to the Division II level, it’s also a chance for Stewart’s family to return home.
Stewart’s wife, former Pirates women’s basketball coach Julie Stewart, is originally from Minot and Peter from Parshall, N.D.
Both her and Peter’s parents still live in state.
That, Peter said, was the deciding factor in his decisions to apply for the job.
“My kids get to see their grandparents once a year,” said Stewart, who has three children between the ages of 13 and 8.
“We’ve had an outstanding eight years in Port Angeles.
“We made a lot of friends and a lot of great memories, but it was the opportunity to bring our kids home that’s the big deal.”
Minot State is in the first year of a three-year transition from the NAIA level to NCAA Division II. The team will also be playing in a 12,000-seat arena.
And, since he’s moving on to a university, Stewart will get the chance to develop players for four years instead of two.
“We have a great opportunity in front of us,” Stewart said. “It’s not a step up, it’s just different.”
Transition
Stewart informed his players of his interest in the North Dakota job after he was named finalist by the school.
He said he plans on honoring the final months of his contract before moving on at the end of May.
“We’re going to try and make sure the transition goes well,” Stewart said. “Our athletes are well aware of what they need to do to get ready.”
Pirates athletic director Rick Ross said the college would conduct a nationwide search during the next month.
Ross said he hopes to have Stewart’s replacement in place by June 1 at the latest.
“We’re going to move as quickly as possible ,” Ross said. “It’s pretty critical.
“We want to get the best applicants that we can, but for the benefit of the players in our program [you have to move fast].
“You want to be competitive next year, so you’ve got to get a coach in place and recruiting to keep it competitive for next season.”
A search committee that includes a community member, a player and Ross will make a hiring recommendation to college president Tom Keegan.
“Our goal is going to be to find someone as much like Peter as we can,” Ross said. “Those are some tough shoes to fill.
“Peter did a great job for the college. Probably more importantly, he did a great job for all the student-athletes that came through his program.
“It was a great era.”
Consistent winner
Stewart’s Pirates went to the NWAACC tournament six out of the eight seasons.
They accumulated a 124-80 record during that time, winning three North Division titles and placing as high as third in the NWAACC tourney.
“When you coach, it’s really the relationships that matter,” Stewart said. “The wins and loses will come and go.”
Stewart’s eight years on the North Olympic Peninsula is the longest he and his wife have stayed in one place since they got married.
Prior to coming to Port Angeles, Stewart’s globe trotting basketball career took him to locales in Australia, Europe, Malaysia, Canada, Colorado and, yes, North Dakota.
“We probably thought when we first got there it was going to be four maybe five [years] at the most [that we stayed in Port Angeles],” Stewart said. “But we didn’t regret it a minute.
“It’s always going to be one of those places that we called home.”
Added Stewart, “It’s overwhelming when you leave that, but it’s not ‘Goodbye.’
“It’s ‘We’ll see you later.'”