Carol Owens Named Northern Illinois Women's Basketball Coach
March 15, 2005
Release courtesy of Northern Illinois sports information department
DeKALB, IL --- Your future is your past and your past is your future. Northern Illinois University Intercollegiate Athletics turned to one of its all-time Athletics Hall of Fame hardwood greats and named Carol Owens as its eighth head women's basketball coach of the school's modern era since 1957-58.
Owens will be introduced as the new Huskie taskmaster at major press conferences Tuesday (March 15) in downtown Chicago and on campus at the new Convocation Center. The announcement was made by first-year Northern Illinois Athletics Director Jim Phillips.
"We are thrilled to name Carol Owens our new basketball coach," Phillips said. "You've often heard the term `favorite son.' Well, Carol is the `loyal daughter.' She's a Huskie, tried and true. Several other head coaching opportunities have come up, but she wanted to return to her beloved alma mater. For us, she represents the perfect institutional fit.
"For our student-athletes, Carol is the ultimate role model. Having worked alongside Carol at the University of Notre Dame for four years, her integrity and dedication are unquestioned. There is a strong commitment to the welfare of the student-athlete in all phases of life---academically, socially, and athletically," Phillips added. "She has competed and coached at the highest level. In Carol Owens, we have someone who can deliver that world-class experience, a top-notch recruiter, a tournament-tested coach, a Chicagoan who can help us in this market and region, and a proud NIU alum. I'm extremely confident that under her leadership and guidance, Huskie women's basketball will return to a position of prominence."
The 37-year-old Owens---currently the top aide under head coach Muffet McGraw at Notre Dame---will officially begin her Huskie duties once the Fighting Irish are eliminated from the National Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament. Notre Dame (26-5) plays the University of California Santa Barbara Saturday (March 20) in Fresno, CA. At Northern Illinois, Owens succeeds head coach Carol Hammerle whose seven-year tenure ended with her retirement a week ago (March 8).
Owens has been regarded one of the country's premier Division I women's assistants for many years. Promoted to associate coach in June, 2002, by McGraw, Owens has been an intergral part of Notre Dame's rise to national prominence. Including this season, the Irish have won 251 of 325 games (.772 winning percentage) during her 10-year tenure in South Bend. In the interim, ND has qualified for 10 consecutive NCAA Tournaments, made six "Sweet 16" appearances (1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003, and 2004), two Final Fours (1997, 2001), and the program's initial NCAA championship (2001).
"This is a dream come true," said Owens who became the first Northern Illinois undergrad to serve as a head coach in a revenue program at the DeKalb-based institution since Hall of Fame head football coach Howard Fletcher (1956-68). "I remember when I was a sophomore and I told (then head coach) Jane (Albright) that once I graduated, I would come back as her assistant in two or three years. This is even better. I can't explain how excited I am to be part of the Huskie family again. I've had a few other (head coaching) opportunities, this was the best fit. Things just fell into place. It was just meant to be. Northern Illinois was one of the best times of my life. I hope our kids can experience what I experienced at NIU.
"The new Convocation Center is beautiful," Owens added. "We were all impressed when we played the Huskies in December. As an alum, I'm really proud of what the school has done. It is one of the best arenas, if not the best, in the MAC, a truly great facility. Our kids should feel great about playing in such a grand arena."
Owens' ultimate goals in her new Northern Illinois cage role? Win the Mid-American Conference and head to the NCAA. "I want our students to enjoy playing the game, enjoy the collegiate experience, and enjoy the time with their teammates," Owens admitted. Recruiting? "No doubt, we have to get into Chicago. NIU is a Chicago school.
"I had a great experience here. Playing under Jane, Deb Patterson (now the head coach at Kansas State University), and Kamie Etheridge (also at KSU)---all were huge influences on me. And Muffet allowed me to grow and get ready for the next step in my career. I still seek their guidance in everything I do. They were all instrumental to me as a coach."
Over the years, her coaching focus centered on the development of Notre Dame's post performers. Owens' most famous paint pupil, of course, would be Ruth Riley (1997-2001) who capped her Irish days as the consensus National Player of the Year (2000-01) and All-America status. Riley, Katryna Gaither (1993-97), and Kelley Siemon (1997-2001) were all selected in the Women's National Basketball Association draft upon completion of their ND careers. In 2003, Riley led the Detroit Shock to the WNBA title and was named the Finals Most Valuable Player. This past summer, Riley became the first Irish women's alumna to make the United States Olympic Team and earned a Gold Medal in Athens, Greece.
In 2001-02, another Owens' protege, forward Jacqueline Batteast, was named the United States Basketball Writers Association National Freshman of the Year, Women's Basketball Coaches Association / Kodak All-America, and unanimous choice for Big East Conference Rookie of the Year. Batteast and center Teresa Barton attended the USA Basketball National Team Trials while forward Courtney LaVere made the Big East All-Rookie team and frosh All-America.
At the same time, Owens gained a national reputation as a recruiter and helped the Irish sign eight straight Top 20 recruiting classes during 1996-2003. Notre Dame's 2001-02 incoming freshmen were ranked third-best in the country by the Blue Star Index and this year's rookies rated 14th-best nationally by the same publication. No wonder Owens was cited as one of the top five assistant coaches in the country by Women's Basketball Journal in 2001.
"Carol has made a major impact on our program from day one," McGraw said in the 2004-05 ND media guide. "She's the very best in the country, both as a coach and a recruiter. She's done a super job of attracting that right people to Notre Dame and then teaching them to reach their maximum potential. She expects and demands the best from every player she coaches and that's why our post game is so good."
During her playing days, Owens took Northern Illinois on a similar ride to the top. No. 31 was head coach Jane Albright's dominating post player for a program that finished 8-19 in 1985-86, improved to 26-5 by 1989-90, and gained the school's first NCAA Tournament berth. As the initial 2,000 career point / 1,000 career rebound performer---male or female---in the Huskie Record Book, Owens wound up the team MVP on a quintet that won the North Star Conference regular-season championship, finished No. 17 in the final Associated Press poll and No. 21 in the USA Today version, and ventured two games into the NCAA field as a senior.
Overall, Owens was a two-time Kodak District Four All-America (1988-89 and 1989-90), a USBWA District Four All-America (1989-90), the North Star Player of the Year (1989-90), a three-year First-Team All-NSC pick (1987-90), and a three-time Huskie captain. She scored 21.7 points during her final Huskie campaign on a team that averaged as school-record 94.5 ppg. As a junior, Owens produced 21.1 ppg. numbers on a 23-7 Northern Illinois squad. In 1986-87, she rehabbed from total right knee reconstruction surgery and was granted a medical red-shirt season by the NCAA.
Upon graduation, Owens left campus with at least 13 school records---(1) career points (2,102), (2) career field goals (818), (3) career field-goal percentage (.537), (4) career free throws (466), (5) career free throw attempts (662), (6) career blocked shots (244), (7) single-season free throw attempts (222), (8) single-season steals (86), (9) single-game points (41, vs. illinois in 1989-90), (10) single-game field goals (16), (11) single-game field-goal percentage (.917), (12) single-game steals (11), and (13) single-game blocked shots (7).
Overall, Owens accounted for 112 career starts, 105 career double-digit scoring games, 41 career twin-digit rebound performances, and 39 point-rebound "double doubles" in the Northern Illinois uniform. She canned 16-of-26 shots from the floor and converted 9-of-14 from the foul line for the career-high 41 points and added 11 boards vs. Illinois (1989-90). Owens produced 22 points and nine rebounds vs. Texas Tech and tallied 25 points vs. Purdue in the 1990 NCAA tourney.
Nationally, Owens co-captained the North squad that captured the Silver Medal at the 1986 United States Olympic Sports Festival and received an invitation to the U. S. National Team Trails in 1990. She played professional ball overseas for three seasons (Japan, Spain, and Italy during 1990-93) before joining the coaching ranks as an assistant at the University of Michigan (1993-95). Owens has been enshrined into two major halls of fame---the NIU Athletics HOF (1995) and the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association HOF (2001).
At Northern Illinois, the Chicago native was selected by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences faculty as her graduating class commencement marshal and was named the institution's Outstanding Woman. She graduated from NIU with a bachelor of arts degree in communications in 1990.
As a prep at Chicago's Notre Dame High School, Owens garnered National Girls' Catholic High School Player of the Year, First-Team Catholic All-America, First-Team All-State, First-Team All-Area, and First-Team All-Girls' Catholic Athletic Conference honors as a senior (1984-85). A three-time All-Chicago Area and all-league pick, she played in the City-Suburban and IBCA all-star games and scored 50 points in one regular-season game.
WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY'S CAROL OWENS:
"Carol's one of the reasons we've gone to 10 straight NCAA Tournaments. She's turned our program around. I don't know what we'll do to replace her. We're so happy and sad at the same time. We're losing a friend, a big part of the Notre Dame family. But Carol has always thought Northern Illinois was the place to be. Absolutely, she's ready (for a head coaching job). She's been ready the last couple years. Carol understands the game from all perspectives. Obviously, she has worked our post players, but she understands what the guards offer to the game. She will be fair and motivate the players. Carol taught (Notre Dame All-America center) Ruth Riley everything. Ruth came in raw with lots of potential and great work ethic. She listened to `C. O.' and soaked in everything Carol told her. For a long time, Carol was the best post player in our gym."
---MUFFET McGRAW, University of Notre Dame Head Women's Basketball Coach
"I'm more excited than anybody. Carol's just like my daughter. I cried happiness tears. She is a unique person.
I've told her how fortunate I was as a young coach, not only to be able to coach a player of her caliber, but of her character. This is a person you'd want your daughter to play for. Carol is one of a group of players who put Northern Illinois women's basketball on the map. Now she gets the chance to do it again. I'm just as excited for the program as I am for Carol.
She loves Northern. She bleeds Cardinal and Black. We've been talking the last three or four days and Carol keeps saying: `I have the opportunity to coach at my alma mater.' She's had other offers (as a head coach). This is the one she wanted all along. The DeKalb community embraced her as a student-athlete and will do it again. Carol is a tower of strength and knowledge. She knows what it takes."
---JANE ALBRIGHT, Wichita State University Head Women's Basketball Coach, Hall of Fame Northern Illinois University Head Women's Basketball Coach
"We feel so fortunate to have had Carol as a member of our women's basketball coaching staff for the past decade. She is truly one of the premier assistant coaches and recruiters in the country and has played a key role in helping make Notre Dame a national power in women's basketball. The knowledge she possesses from her playing days at Northern Illinois and as an assistant at Notre Dame will undoubtedly make a tremendously successful head coach for NIU. This is a great opportunity for Carol and we all look forward to following the Huskies' development under her guidance in the coming seasons."
---KEVIN WHITE, University of Notre Dame Athletics Director
"It's well-deserved. Carol is the perfect choice. She is a players' coach. They (players) will believe in her and trust what she says. And she can back up the things she says on the court. Carol is great with people. She has a super personality and she'll recruit well."
---LISA FOSS, Hall of Fame Northern Illinois University Women's Basketball Player
"Carol has had great experience at Notre Dame and will be wonderful for the Northern Illinois program. She was a fierce competitor as a player. She helped mold some great players at Notre Dame. I expect that she will do great things at Northern."
---DOROTHY GATERS, Marshall High School Head Girls' Basketball Coach
"Carol Owens has, obviously, paid her dues. She was a great player at Northern and, more importantly, a classy player at Northern. Carol's work in the trenches at Notre Dame has been a big reason for their women's hoop success. I know that Jimmy (Jim Phillips) is familiar with her at Notre Dame. We look forward to continuing the DePaul-Northern rivalry in women's basketball."
---DOUG BRUNO, DePaul University Head Women's Basketball Coach
"Carol is the perfect coach for Northern Illinois. I've been around women's basketball and I know Northern. She'll get it back rocking and rolling. She has huge connections in Chicago and the Midwest. It's a great day for NIU basketball. We're (alumni) all excited."
---DENISE DOVE IANELLO, Northern Illinois University Women's Basketball Player
