GRAND RAPIDS – Jenny Boynton was at her parents’ house in Holland last month when she got some big news.
Her husband, Mike Boynton Jr., was just named head coach of the University of Michigan basketball team.
“I love it,” she said. “We joked when this became a possibility … I started wearing blue around the house to hint that this is where we needed to be.’”
Boynton – whose maiden name is Jenny Hill – graduated from West Ottawa High School in 2000. She played volleyball and basketball for the Panthers. She would go on to play volleyball at Virginia Tech.
How did the Boynton’s meet?
“Just through college athletics,” Mike Boynton said. “She was a dietician and I was the head assistant coach at the University of South Carolina back in 2008.”
Mike Boynton would eventually become head coach at Oklahoma State University for seven years before taking a job as assistant coach at Michigan last year under Dusty May. The Wolverines won the National Championship and May left to coach in the NBA. So that left the door open for Boynton.
The Boyntons were Grand Rapids on Sunday to watch their son, Ace, play basketball at the Bank Hoops Underclassman All-State Camp. Ace will be an eighth grader this fall.
“I’ve been to Grand Rapids several times,” he said. “My wife is from Holland. We fly into Grand Rapids to see her parents (Brian and Nancy Hill).”
One of Jenny Boynton’s good friends is Kristen Redell, the wife of West Ottawa basketball coach Jared Redell. They were all at West Ottawa around the same time.
“I was a few years behind guys like (football player) Rob Renes and (basketball player) Jared Redell,” she said. “They were a few years older than me, but they were big names when I was there.”
One of the first people she called when she got the news was Kristen Redell. The two were teammates on the volleyball team at West Ottawa.
“Jenny was at her parents house in Holland when they found out that Mike got the job,” Redell said. “When they came to Holland recently, we got them into the gym at West Ottawa so the boys could get shots up. Our sons are the same age.”
Redell said she her family has always been fans of Michigan basketball.
“Its amazing,” she said. “We love Michigan (basketball). We were excited that Mike got the position. It is an amazing tie to West Michigan and the Holland community.”
The Boyton’s will be back in West Michigan in October. The University of Michigan will play an exhibition on Oct. 25 against the University of Houston at Van Andel Arena.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: New Michigan basketball coach Mike Boynton is married to former West Ottawa star athlete Jenny Hill
Reporting by Lenny Padilla, Sentinel Contributor / The Holland Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Lenny Padilla, Sentinel Contributor | USA TODAY Network
