Dunford fills the assistant coaching position vacated by Jalie Mitchell, who returned to the Lone Star State and re-joined the North Texas staff as an assistant under new Mean Green coach Karen Alston.

"We are excited to have Ollin join the Seahawk family as an assistant coach," said Cooper-Dyke. "He is an energetic and highly-motivated person who will be an asset to our program both on the floor and on the recruiting trail. He is ready to make his mark at UNCW and I am confident he can help our program soar to new heights."

Dunford joins the UNCW program from USC Upstate, where he served as an assistant coach on Tammy George's staff for one season and helped the Spartans compile a 17-13 record and advance to postseason play for the first time in program history with an appearance in the Women's Basketball Invitational. He also played a key role in the development of Atlantic Sun Player-of-the-Year Chelsea McMillan and Second-Team A-Sun selection Tee'Ara Copney while assisting in the recruitment of the Spartans' 2011-12 signing class.

"I am very excited about joining the Seahawk Family," said Dunford. "The opportunity to become part of Coach Cooper-Dyke's staff is a true blessing and a once in a lifetime opportunity. I am extremely blessed and excited to now call UNCW home. It truly is a great day to be a Seahawk!"

Prior to his time in Spartanburg, Dunford spent two seasons as a graduate assistant at Virginia Tech, assisting in the day-to-day operations of the Hokies program. He also has extensive experience on the summer camp circuit, serving as an instructor for summer camps conducted at Clemson, Virginia Tech, Western Carolina and Wofford.

"It's not every day you have a chance to work for a Naismith Hall of Famer, but she is so much greater than her hall-of-fame career," Dunford said of Cooper-Dyke. "In mapping out my career, I always wanted to be part of a program that was going to invest in making student-athletes the very best people they can be. In my first interaction with Coach Cooper-Dyke, I understood how the passion, love, and enthusiasm she conducts herself with on a daily basis is infectious and I know it has had a direct correlation to the program's recent success and why the future is so bright here in Wilmington."

A two-sport athlete at Mars Hill, Dunford played football and basketball for the Lions and was a four-time South Atlantic Conference Commissioners Honor Roll selection. He also served as the representative for the South Atlantic Conference on the NCAA Division II National Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (S.A.A.C.)  

Dunford was an All-Conference and All-Region selection in both football and basketball at Smoky Mountain High School in Sylva, N.C. He earned his Bachelor's of Arts degree with a double major in Sociology and Psychology from Mars Hill College in 2008 and completed his Master's of Science degree in Physical Health and Education at Virginia Tech in 2010.