Joan Bonvicini (born October 10, 1953)
is the former head coach for the
Seattle University women's basketball team,
the Redhawks, and one of only 18 coaches in
Division I women's basketball history with 701 career victories.
She was head coach at the
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory.
T ...
for 17 seasons, leading the Wildcats 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 ...
championship in 1996. She was fired by Arizona on March 17, 2008 with one year left on her contract, after a disappointing 10-20 record in her final season. Before joining Arizona in 1991, she coached the
Long Beach State 49ers
Long Beach State athletics, or simply Beach athletics (previously known as the 49ers), are the athletic teams that represent California State University, Long Beach. Teams compete in 19 sports at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NC ...
to a 325-71 mark over 12 seasons. During her tenure, the 49ers won at least 24 games each season, winning 10
Big West Conference
The Big West Conference (BWC) is an American collegiate athletic conference whose member institutions participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The conference was originally formed on July 1, 1969, as the Pacific ...
titles and making 10 consecutive
NCAA tournament appearances, including
Final Four appearances in 1987 and 1988.
[
Bonvicini is the all-time most successful coach in the history of ]University of Arizona
The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory.
T ...
.[ She guided the Wildcats to nine post-season appearances, including one ]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 ...
championship.[ The Wildcats finished in the upper echelon of the ]Pacific-10 Conference
The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS; formerly Division ...
nine years under her direction. In February 2007, Bonvicini reached the 600 win milestone, becoming the 18th coach in NCAA Division I women's basketball history to reach this mark.
She coached many talented players at Long Beach, including LaTaunya Pollard, the 1983 Wade Trophy
The Wade Trophy is an award presented annually to the best upperclass women's basketball player in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I competition. It is named after three–time national champion Delta State University coac ...
winner, 3-time 1st team All-American, 1980 Olympic Team member, and member of the women's basketball hall of fame; 2-time 1st team All-American and 1988 U.S. Olympic Team member Cindy Brown; 1985 1st team All-American Kirsten Cummings; and 2-time 1st team All-American Penny Toler
Virginia Marlita "Penny" Toler (born March 24, 1966) is an American basketball executive and former player who served most recently as the general manager of the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Toler holds ...
, the current general manager of the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks
The Los Angeles Sparks (LA Sparks) are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Sparks compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team was foun ...
.
At Arizona, she coached one All-American, five honorable mention All-American selections, one Pacific-10 Player of the Year, and 14 Academic All-Pacific-10 selections.[
Entering the 2009-10 season, Bonvicini held a career mark of 612-294 as a head coach, including a 287-223 record at Arizona. In Arizona's 2003-04 season, she led the Wildcats to a perfect home record and a regular season Pacific-10 title.
She is a 1975 graduate of ]Southern Connecticut State University
Southern Connecticut State University (Southern Connecticut, Southern Connecticut State, SCSU, or simply Southern) is a public university in New Haven, Connecticut. Part of the Connecticut State University System, it was founded in 1893 and is g ...
, where, as a guard
Guard or guards may refer to:
Professional occupations
* Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault
* Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street
* Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning
* Prison ...
, she led her team to third and fourth place in the AIAW tournament (the AIAW existed prior to the NCAA allowing women to compete for national titles). Bonvicini was a finalist for the 1976 U.S. Olympic Basketball Team.[
Bonvicini was inducted as a player into the ]Southern Connecticut State University
Southern Connecticut State University (Southern Connecticut, Southern Connecticut State, SCSU, or simply Southern) is a public university in New Haven, Connecticut. Part of the Connecticut State University System, it was founded in 1893 and is g ...
Hall of Fame in 1989, the Connecticut Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 1994 and the New England Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007. In October 1996, she was inducted as a coach into the Long Beach State
California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) is a public research university in Long Beach, California. The 322-acre campus is the second largest of the 23-school California State University system (CSU) and one of the largest universities i ...
Hall of Fame.[ Bonvicini began her coaching career under the wing of two of the game's finest coaches: Darlene May of ]California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona, CPP, or Cal Poly"Cal Poly" may also refer to California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo in San Luis Obispo. See the '' name'' section of this article for more info ...
and Frances Schaafsma of California State University, Long Beach
California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) is a public research university in Long Beach, California. The 322-acre campus is the second largest of the 23-school California State University system (CSU) and one of the largest universities i ...
.
USA Basketball
Bonvicini was chosen as the assistant coach of the team representing the USA in 1982 at the William Jones Cup
The R. William Jones Cup (), also known as the Jones Cup, is an international basketball tournament organized by the Chinese Taipei Basketball Association (CTBA) held annually since 1977 in Taiwan.
It was named in honor of basketball promoter ...
competition in Taipei, Taiwan
Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...
. The team started out strongly, winning their first four games by 16 or more points. In the fifth game, they were matched against Australia. The game was close until the end. With a half-minute remaining, the USA held a one-point margin. The USA extended the lead to three points on two free throws, the Aussies brought it back to one with two free throws of their own, and the USA hit two free throws with two seconds left in the game to secure the 65–62 victory. The next two games were easy victories, then the USA faced unbeaten Canada in the final game. The game was very close, but the USA fell to Canada 70–67 to finish with a single loss and the silver medal. USA players Lea Henry and Paula McGee were named to the All-Tournament Team.
Bonvicini was the head coach of the team representing the USA at the World University Games held in Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...
in July 1993. The USA opened with double-digit margin victories over Israel, Taiwan, and the Ukraine. Their next game was against Russia, and they held a single point lead with just over ten minutes to go in the game, but they finished strong, and won 72–55. The next game was against Cuba, which included six players from their 1992 Olympic team. The USA pulled out to a 15-point lead at halftime, had extended to an 18-point lead at one time, but Cuba proved to be too strong, and came back to defeat the USA 88–80. After beating Japan, the USA faced China, whose team also featured many members of their silver medal winning Olympic team. The USA fell behind; their comeback attempt fell two points shy of tying the game. The final score in favor of China was 75–73. The opponent in the bronze medal game was Lithuania. The USA team won 83–73 to earn the bronze medal.
See also
*List of college women's basketball coaches with 600 wins
This is a list of college women's basketball coaches by number of career wins. The list includes other NCAA, AIAW and NAIA levels. Tara VanDerveer, the head coach of Idaho from 1978–80, Ohio State from 1980-85, and Stanford since 1985 (with a ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonvicini, Joan
1953 births
Living people
American women's basketball coaches
Arizona Wildcats women's basketball coaches
College women's basketball players in the United States
Long Beach State Beach women's basketball coaches
Seattle Redhawks women's basketball coaches
Southern Connecticut State University alumni