Connie Sue Yori (born October 3, 1963)
is the former head coach of the
Nebraska Cornhuskers women's basketball
The Nebraska Cornhuskers women's basketball team represents the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the Big Ten Conference of NCAA Division I. The program became a varsity sport in 1975 and has since made fifteen appearances in the NCAA tournamen ...
team representing the
University of Nebraska
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...
in
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
Division I competition.
She formerly coached
Loras College
Loras College is a private Catholic college in Dubuque, Iowa. It has an enrollment of approximately 1,600 students and is the oldest post-secondary institution in the state of Iowa. The school offers both undergraduate and graduate degree pr ...
(a
Division III
In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below.
Association football
*Belgian Thir ...
school) from 1990–92 and
Creighton from 1992–2002. In
2009–10, Yori was named the
Naismith College Coach of the Year
Naismith College Coach of the Year Award is an award given by the Atlanta Tipoff Club to one men's and one women's NCAA Division I collegiate coach each season since 1987. The award was originally given to the two winning coaches of the NCAA Divis ...
,
AP College Basketball Coach of the Year
The Associated Press College Basketball Coach of the Year award was established in 1967 to recognize the best men's college basketball coach of the year, as voted upon by the Associated Press (AP). A parallel award for women's coaches was added in ...
and the
Women's Basketball Coaches Association
The Women's Basketball Coaches Association is an association of coaches of women's basketball teams at all levels.
The organization was formed in 1981, with the goal of addressing the needs of women's basketball coaches.
The mission of the WBCA ...
Coach of the Year after guiding Nebraska to a 32–2 record and the school's first-ever trip to the
NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship
The NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament is a single-elimination tournament played each spring in the United States, currently featuring 68 women's college basketball teams from the Division I level of the National Collegiate Athletic ...
Sweet 16.
[
]
Early life
High school
Yori was born in Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...
, and attended Ankeny High School
Ankeny High School is a public high school located in Ankeny, Iowa, United States. It is part of the Ankeny Community School District, and serves grades 10 through 12.
History
AHS opened in 1913 and graduated six seniors in the spring of 1914. ...
in Ankeny, Iowa
Ankeny (, ) is a city in Polk County, Iowa, United States and a suburb of the state capital of Des Moines, as part of the Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA metropolitan statistical area.
As of the 2020 census, the population of Ankeny was 67,887, m ...
, where she graduated in 1982.[ In her six-on-six high school basketball career (girls' rules were different back then, using six players instead of five), Yori compiled 3,068 points in her career.][ In 1980 the Hawkettes were state champions and in 1981 were runners–up. She was also a star ]softball
Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...
player, garnering four First Team All-State selections as a shortstop while leading Ankeny to three state championships in 1979, 1980 and 1981.[ Yori is a two-time inductee into the Iowa Girls' High School Athletic Union Hall of Fame—once as a basketball player, the other as a softball player.][
]
College
Yori attended Creighton University
Creighton University is a private Jesuit research university in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1878, the university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. In 2015 the university enrolled 8,393 graduate and undergra ...
and played basketball for four years. She scored 2,010 points, which ranks third all-time in Bluejays' women's basketball history, and she is also near (or at) the top of numerous other school records as well, resulting in her induction to the Creighton Athletics Hall of Fame and having her jersey number (#25) retired:[
*First: Career scoring average (20.3 ppg), points in a game (42), field goals made in a game (20)
*Second: Career field goals made (797), free throws made (416)
*Fourth: Rebounds (746)
*Fifth: Field goal percentage (.542), assists (399)
*Seventh: Blocked shots (69)]
Creighton statistics
Source
Coaching career
Creighton assistant / Loras College (1986–92)
Yori began her coaching career at her ''alma mater'' in 1986, the same year she graduated in May 1986 with a bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
in journalism.[ After spending three seasons assisting the Bluejays program, Yori moved to ]Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
, Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
where she earned a master's degree
A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice. in sports administration from St. Thomas University while serving as the head softball coach for one season.
Yori's first head coaching job was at Loras College
Loras College is a private Catholic college in Dubuque, Iowa. It has an enrollment of approximately 1,600 students and is the oldest post-secondary institution in the state of Iowa. The school offers both undergraduate and graduate degree pr ...
, a Division III
In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below.
Association football
*Belgian Thir ...
institution in Dubuque, Iowa
Dubuque (, ) is the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. At the time of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population of Dubuque was 59,667. The city lies at the junction of Iowa, Il ...
. She served there for two years (1990–91 and 1991–92). She compiled records of 10–15 and then 15–10 to bring her two-year stint to a 25–25 overall record (17–19 in conference play).[
]
Creighton (1992–2002)
In 1992–93, Yori secured the head coaching job back at Creighton after her former coach and mentor, Bruce Rasmussen
Bruce Rasmussen (born March 18, 1961) is an American television producer and writer. He was supervising producer with the hit TV series ''Roseanne'' in 1992, for which he was awarded a Golden Globe, a Peabody, and a Humanitas Prize, and went on ...
, accepted an associate director position at the school. She had immediate success in her first season as she led the Bluejays to the school's second-ever NCAA Tournament appearance, earning the 10th-seed in the Midwest Region. Creighton would lose to eventual national champion Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
in the second round.[
Despite a 24–7 overall record (12–4 in conference play) in 1993–94, Yori's second, the Bluejays did not get invited to a postseason tournament. It would be Yori's personally best season as head coach until her final year with Creighton in 2001–02. That season, Creighton once again compiled a 24–7 overall record (16–2 conference) to claim the 2002 ]Missouri Valley Conference
The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the third-oldest collegiate athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the midwest.
History
The MVC was established ...
regular-season and tournament championships.[ The Bluejays, seeded 12th in the Mideast Region, would lose to ]Florida International University
Florida International University (FIU) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in Miami-Dade County. Founded in 1965, the school opened its doors to students in 1972. FIU has grown to become the third-largest uni ...
in the first round 73–58.
Nebraska (2002–16)
The Cornhuskers struggled mightily in Yori's first season as head coach in 2002–03. They finished the season last in the Big 12 Conference
The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its ...
(12th place) and recorded an 8–20 overall record (1–15 conference). The following season, Nebraska had a 10-game turnaround as they finished 18–12 (7–9). They were invited to the Women's National Invitation Tournament
The Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) is a women's national college basketball tournament with a preseason and postseason version played every year. It is operated in a similar fashion to the men's college National Invitation Tournam ...
(WNIT) where they made it to the second round.[ Over the course of the next five seasons, Nebraska compiled an overall record of 95–65 (41–39), never placing higher than 4th in the conference.][ Yori led them to two NCAA Tournaments (]2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...
, 2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
) but did not make it past the first or second round, respectively.[ ]
2009–10 season
The 2009–10 season was the most successful year in the Nebraska women's basketball program's history. After finishing the 2008–09 campaign with a 15–16 (6–10, T-7th) record, the Cornhuskers rolled through the 2009–10 season with an undefeated 29–0 (16–0) regular season, becoming the first team in Big 12 history to record an unbeaten regular season, and only the second to record a perfect conference record.[ They won their first regular season conference title, but were upset by ]Texas A&M
Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...
in the Big 12 Tournament semifinals.
Nebraska was unranked in every preseason poll, but at the season's end were #4 in both the Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
and Coaches' Polls. They had never even been ranked in the top 10 before, but spent the last nine weeks of the regular season in the top 10, peaking at #3 for a time.[ Yori guided the Cornhuskers to the program's first-ever #1 seed in the NCAA tournament. After posting 83–44 and 83–70 victories over ]Northern Iowa
Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...
and UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...
, respectively, Nebraska advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time in school history. They were then upset by the 4th-seeded Kentucky Wildcats
The Kentucky Wildcats are the men's and women's intercollegiate athletic squads of the University of Kentucky (UK), a founding member of the Southeastern Conference. The Kentucky Wildcats is the student body of the University of Kentucky. 30,473 ...
, 76–67, where their season would end at 32–2.[
After shattering the old program record of 23 for wins in a season, and for Nebraska's 15-game turnaround, Yori received the Big 12 Conference, WBCA Region 5, U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA), ]Women's Basketball Coaches Association
The Women's Basketball Coaches Association is an association of coaches of women's basketball teams at all levels.
The organization was formed in 1981, with the goal of addressing the needs of women's basketball coaches.
The mission of the WBCA ...
Coach of the Year and Naismith Coach of the Year awards. She was also named the inaugural winner of the Kay Yow National Coach of the Year Award, which is given to the women's college basketball head coach in NCAA Division I competition who displays great character both on and off the court.[
On April 5, 2016 Yori resigned after 14 years at the helm. The Lincoln Journal Star reports the resignation comes on the heels of an investigation by the athletic department that Yori mistreated players.]
Yori posted a record of 280-166 and led the Huskers to a pair of conference titles and seven trips to the NCAA Tournament.
Head coaching record
References
External links
Nebraska biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yori, Connie
1963 births
Living people
American women's basketball coaches
American women's basketball players
Basketball coaches from Iowa
Basketball players from Des Moines, Iowa
Creighton Bluejays women's basketball coaches
Creighton Bluejays women's basketball players
Nebraska Cornhuskers women's basketball coaches
Parade High School All-Americans (girls' basketball)
People from Ankeny, Iowa
Sportspeople from Des Moines, Iowa
St. Thomas University (Florida) alumni
Guards (basketball)