Heisey Steps Down as Head Women's Basketball Coach at Seattle Pacific - 24 days ago
POSTED BY:
EUROBASKET NEWS
follow us on
Julie Heisey is hanging up her whistle and her clipboard. Heisey, who guided Seattle Pacific to eight NCAA tournaments, an Elite Eight appearance, and four Great Northwest Athletic Conference championships, has stepped down as head coach of the Falcons. 'The biggest thing is, life is short. Coaching is really demanding, and it's understanding that there is only so much time,' Heisey said. 'When you look at the calendar from October through March, you don't get two days off in a row. My pa... [read more]
Julie Heisey is hanging up her whistle and her clipboard. Heisey, who guided Seattle Pacific to eight NCAA tournaments, an Elite Eight appearance, and four Great Northwest Athletic Conference championships, has stepped down as head coach of the Falcons. 'The biggest thing is, life is short. Coaching is really demanding, and it's understanding that there is only so much time,' Heisey said. 'When you look at the calendar from October through March, you don't get two days off in a row. My parents are in their 90s, and my husband's parents are in their 80s. It's just knowing that I don't want to sell my players short, and I don't want to have any regrets with family.' SPU athletic director Jackson Stava said the team will miss having Heisey at the helm, but he was understanding of her decision and her reasons for it. 'We are extremely grateful for the impact that Coach Heisey has had on this program for the last 13 years,' Stava said. 'While we are greatly saddened by Julie moving on from SPU, we are also very supportive of her decision as it is yet another reflection of the character that has defined Julie's tenure as coach. 'There are not words to express the level of thanks we have for her time here at SPU and wish her nothing but the best in this next chapter of her life.' Last season, Heisey's 13th in Seattle, was one of the program's best. The team put together a 23-8 record, its first 20-win season since going 22-7 in 2014-15. Included were a two-game season sweep of arch-rival Western Washington, and two victories against nationally ranked Alaska Anchorage. The second win versus the Seawolves was 74-65 in the semifinals of the GNAC Tournament, which was played on Anchorage's home court. That gave the Falcons their first-ever appearance in the GNAC title game, which ultimately was won by Montana State Billings, 71-61. 'This past year was amazing. We had a lot of great moments,' Heisey said. 'We were in the conference championship game, and obviously that was really fun. And I just loved our team.' Courtesy of: spufalcons.com
Brent Pollari named head women's basketball coach at Wayne State College - 1 month ago
POSTED BY:
EUROBASKET NEWS
follow us on
Wayne State College Director of Athletics Mike Powicki announced late Thursday afternoon that Brent Pollari has been named head women's basketball coach, replacing Chris Kielsmeier who stepped down April 17 to become head coach at Cleveland State. Pollari becomes the 11th head coach in the 48-year history of the Wayne State College women's basketball program. 'We are excited to have Coach Pollari join the Wayne State Athletics team as our next head women's basketball coach,' said Powicki.... [read more]
Wayne State College Director of Athletics Mike Powicki announced late Thursday afternoon that Brent Pollari has been named head women's basketball coach, replacing Chris Kielsmeier who stepped down April 17 to become head coach at Cleveland State. Pollari becomes the 11th head coach in the 48-year history of the Wayne State College women's basketball program. 'We are excited to have Coach Pollari join the Wayne State Athletics team as our next head women's basketball coach,' said Powicki. 'He has a great deal of valuable experience and success coaching and recruiting in our region so he will be able to hit the ground running with an understanding on what it takes to maintain the tradition of Wildcat Women's Basketball.' Powicki added, 'Brent is also very committed to the academic achievement of our team and the importance in providing a positive experience for our student-athletes.' Pollari brings 15 years of collegiate coaching experience at the NCAA Division I, II and III levels to Wayne State College along with four years of high school experience. He comes to Wayne State after spending the previous three seasons as head coach at NCAA Division III St. Mary's University in Minnesota, compiling a 50-29 records and two trips to the MIAC playoffs. Pollari's 2015-16 team at St. Mary's was 21-6, earning MIAC Coach of the Year honors. Pollari also served one year as an assistant coach at Minnesota State (2014-15), helping the Mavericks reach the NCAA Division II National Tournament with a 21-10 record. He also spent one year as an assistant at Division I North Dakota (2013-14), helping the school win the Big Sky Conference title and a trip to the NCAA Tournament. Other coaching stops for Pollari include six years as associate head coach at Northern State where he was recruiting coordinator and head junior varsity coach, helping the Wolves reach the NCAA Division II National Tournament in the 2010-11 season. Pollari also served as assistant coach/interim head coach at Texas A&M Kingsville (2006-07), was a graduate assistant at Northern State (2004-06) and assistant for one season (2001-02) at Montana State. High school coaching experience for Pollari includes two years as head girls basketball coach at Corvallis High School in Montana, one year as assistant at Bozeman High School in Montana and one year at Bismarck St. Mary's High School in North Dakota. Pollari obtained his bachelor's degree from the University of Mary in 2001 (physical education teaching with history minor) and earned a master's degree from Northern State in 2006 in physical education, health and coaching. 'I have spent many years competing against and admiring Wayne State College's women's basketball program and I am excited to join the Wildcat family,' remarked Pollari. 'I am humbled by the sustained success and community support that I have witnessed and I can't wait to contribute to it. Connecting with our current and incoming players is my first priority and I am ready to help guide this program into a new chapter of continued success.' Pollari added, 'I want to thank the search committee, Athletic Director Mike Powicki, my family, friends and former players/coaches for their belief in and support of me. This is truly an exciting time.' Wayne State College is an NCAA Division II school located in Wayne, Nebraska and competes in the 16-team Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. The Wildcats were 25-7 in the 2017-18 season and placed second in the NSIC South Division with an 18-4 league mark. Courtesy of: wscwildcats.com
Lovato Steps Down as Women's Basketball Coach at UAFS; Returns to Mississippi State - 1 month ago
POSTED BY:
EUROBASKET NEWS
follow us on
A familiar face is returning to the Mississippi State women's basketball sideline, as Elena Lovato is rejoining the program as the Bulldogs' new assistant coach. Lovato, who served on Vic Schaefer's staff the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons and had a hand in recruiting many of the players from State's last two National Finalist teams, returns to Starkville after a two-year stint as the head coach at Arkansas-Fort Smith. 'Leaving Mississippi State two years ago was a difficult decision because... [read more]
A familiar face is returning to the Mississippi State women's basketball sideline, as Elena Lovato is rejoining the program as the Bulldogs' new assistant coach. Lovato, who served on Vic Schaefer's staff the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons and had a hand in recruiting many of the players from State's last two National Finalist teams, returns to Starkville after a two-year stint as the head coach at Arkansas-Fort Smith. 'Leaving Mississippi State two years ago was a difficult decision because it is a special place surrounded with special people,' Lovato said. 'I believed with every ounce in me that Coach Schaefer was building an elite program that would compete for national championships. I failed to realize two things: You can't put a price tag on people and I was leaving a big piece of my heart in Starkville. 'In my two years as a Bulldog, I grew to love and respect the people I was blessed to be in the office with every day. In this business, the people you surround yourself with daily define your success. This is a tremendous staff that is hard working, genuine, trustworthy and extremely professional. It's definitely true what they say about your heart growing fonder while you're away. I'm beyond grateful and blessed that Coach Schaefer, the Naismith Coach of the Year, is willing to have me back on his bench. I could not be more excited to roll up my sleeves and get to work with Coach Schaefer, Johnnie (Harris), Dionnah (Jackson-Durrett), Maryann (Baker) and the rest of the team as we chase a national championship. Hail State!' In those two seasons at UAFS, she led the Lady Lions to a 37-24 record and a 20-10 mark in the Heartland Conference. Her 2017-18 squad reached the 20-win mark and claimed a spot in the NCAA Division II Tournament. Lovato rejoins a Bulldog program that posted a 55-15 record and 22-10 SEC mark in her two seasons as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. The Albuquerque, N.M., native helped State to back-to-back NCAA Tournament berths, including the program's first Sweet 16 appearance since 2010 in the 2015-16 season. 'We are very excited to have Elena back with our program,' Schaefer said. 'She's been a successful head coach at the Division II level for the two years since she left us, and she is a veteran coach who has won national championships at the junior college level. Elena brings a wealth of experience in recruiting and player development to our program, and when you look at our teams that have been so successful the last couple of years, she was instrumental in helping recruit and develop many of those players. I am fortunate to have such a great coaching staff, and we are thrilled that Elena wanted to come back home.' Lovato helped recruit some of the top classes in MSU history that went on to earn four-straight trips to the NCAA Tournament, including back-to-back national title game appearances, and collected the program's first SEC championship. In her first season on Schaefer's staff, the Bulldogs won a then-school record 27 games while earning the program's first NCAA Tournament berth since the 2009-10 campaign. That squad, which included the winningest class in program history (Blair Schaefer, Victoria Vivians and Morgan William) moved into the Associated Press Top 25 for the first time since 2009-10, a place it has stayed for 74-straight weeks. The following year, the Bulldogs set another program record with 28 victories and finished third in the SEC with an 11-5 league mark for the second-straight year. That MSU squad went on to the finals of the SEC Tournament before hosting the opening two rounds of the NCAA Tournament for the first time. State knocked off Chattanooga and Michigan State to advance to the school's first Sweet 16 since 2010. Prior to her first stint with the Bulldogs, she was one of the top junior college coaches in the nation, recording a 113-8 record in four seasons at the level. She spent the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons at the helm of Trinity Valley Community College, where she posted a 72-2 mark and won the national title each of those seasons. She was named NJCAA Division I Coach of the Year after her 2013-14 squad went 36-1 and claimed a second-straight national title. It matched the previous year's team that also won the national championship and finished 36-1 behind former Bulldog Savannah Carter. Lovato mentored six NJCAA All-Americans at TVCC, including 2014 WBCA Player of the Year Adut Bulgak. She led TVCC to the pair of national titles in her second stint at the school. Lovato returned to helm the program after a spending one season as an assistant with Nebraska-Omaha, an NCAA Division II school that was making the transition to Division I, and another as head coach at Grayson County Community College in Denton, Texas. At Grayson, she took a program that finished 4-26 the year before and led it to a 32-4 record, the Region V championship and a fifth-place national finish. The successful campaign earned her coach of the year honors from the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches, North Texas College Athletic Conference and NJCAA Region V. A year earlier she was in her first stint as an assistant at Trinity Valley before being promoted to interim head coach for the final 11 games of the season. The nation started to take notice of the young up-and-coming coach during that stretch as she led the Lady Cardinals a 9-2 mark and a sixth-place finish in the national tournament. Prior to that first tenure with the Lady Cardinals, she was an assistant on legendary coach Joe Curl's Houston staff in 2008-09 and a graduate assistant at Pittsburg State in Kansas. The Albuquerque, N.M., native also coached at the prep level following a stellar playing career. Before embarking on her coaching career, Lovato played two seasons at West Texas A&M before transferring to Missouri Southern State, where she was named a team captain and MIAA Newcomer of the Year over her two seasons. She went on to play professionally in the Puerto Rican Women's Basketball League, earning First Team All-League honors after averaging 23 points and 10 rebounds in 2001. The following season (2002) she averaged 18 points and eight rebounds. In 2002 she also played for the Chicago Blaze of the National Women's Basketball League (NWBL). Lovato earned her bachelor's degree in university studies from Missouri Southern State in 2005, and her master's degree in physical education from Pittsburg State in 2008. Courtesy of: hailstate.com
WARNING:
Do not copy, redistribute, publish or otherwise exploit information that you download from the site !
Do not encumber, license, modify, publish, sell, transfer or transmit, or in any way exploit, any of the
content of the site, nor will you attempt to do so.
USA Basketball
Canadian Hoops
: World Champ.s U17 starts
: World Cup starts
