Livingston replaces Marvelli as Simpson men’s golf coach

INDIANOLA, Iowa – Simpson College Director of Athletics Brian Niemuth announced today that Jason Marvelli will step down as Simpson head men's golf coach. Justin Livingston, a standout golfer at Central and former assistant coach for the Dutch, will take over the program.

Marvelli concluded his eighth year as the Storm's head coach in 2015-16 and will remain involved in the program as a volunteer assistant coach.

"Jason led the program to new heights during his tenure as head coach," Niemuth said. "We are grateful for his numerous contributions to the program and the time and effort he put in to developing our student-athletes.

"Coach Livingston experienced great success as a student-athlete in the Iowa Conference and knows what it takes to compete at this level. He has the drive and vision to continue our momentum."

Marvelli won Iowa Conference Coach of the Year honors in 2013, the first men's golf coach in school history to win the award. His most recent season at Simpson may have been his best, as he led the Storm to a third-place finish at the Iowa Conference Championship and coached Trent Lindenman to medalist honors. The third-place finish is the best by a Simpson team since 2007 and Lindenman became the program's first conference champion since 2003.

"I've thoroughly enjoyed my time as men's golf coach but feel the time is right to hand it off to Coach Livingston," Marvelli said. "We've made some great strides over the last eight years and I firmly believe that Coach Livingston will be able to move the program to a level it's never been before. I'm excited to be able to move into the role of volunteer assistant and continue working with our players on a part time basis."

Livingston comes to Simpson from Central, where he spent the past season as an assistant men's golf coach. A Winterset native, Livingston graduated from Central in 2014, where was a three-time NCAA Division III Tournament participant. He finished in a tie for 27th nationally in 2013 and earned all-conference distinction three times, placing second in the medalist standings in 2011 and 2013 and third in 2012.

"I am extremely excited for the opportunity to be the head men's golf coach at Simpson," Livingston said. "I feel as though my experience in the conference as a player and an assistant coach will be beneficial to the program. I am excited to pick up where coach Marvelli left off and look to continue building on what he has done with the program."

Livingston served as an assistant for Central during the 2014 fall season before taking the head women's job at AIB in January, but the school's athletics program was dropped in May. Livingston is a certified personal golf coach at GolfTEC in West Des Moines.

"As a student-athlete, I was very fortunate to participate in the Division III national golf championship, and I'm hoping to develop a program here at Simpson where our guys can have the same opportunities I did at the national level," Livingston said. "I am really looking forward to getting started."