June Olkowski (born November 3, 1960) is a former college basketball player and coach, who was head coach of the women's teams 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 ...

Butler University Butler University is a private university in Indianapolis, Indiana. Founded in 1855 and named after founder Ovid Butler, the university has over 60 major academic fields of study in six colleges: the Lacy School of Business, College of Communic ...

, and

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

. Olkowski, a 6'0" forward, attended St. Maria Goretti High School in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

. She played college basketball at

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...

, where, as a senior, she was a member of the 1982 team that won the final

AIAW women's basketball tournament The AIAW women's basketball tournament was a national tournament for women's collegiate basketball teams in the United States, held annually from 1972 to 1982. The winners of the AIAW tournaments from 1972 to 1981 are recognized as the national c ...

. She then entered coaching, holding the following positions with women's college basketball teams: *Assistant coach,

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

, 1982–85 *Assistant coach,

, 1985–87 *Head coach,

, 1987–91 *Assistant coach, Auburn University, 1991–93 *Head coach,

, 1993–99 *Head coach,

, 1999–2004 Olkowski was elected to the

National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame The National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame and Museum was founded in 1973. The mission of the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame is to recognize and preserve outstanding achievement by individuals of Polish heritage in the field o ...

in 2012.

USA Basketball

Olkowski was named to the team representing the US at the inaugural William Jones Cup 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 ...

. In subsequent years, the teams would be primarily college age players, but in the inaugural event, eight of the twelve players, including Olkowski, were in high school. The USA team had a record of 3–4, finishing in fifth place, although one of the wins was over South Korea, who would go on to win the gold medal. Olkowski was named to the team representing the US at the 1979 World University Games, held in Mexico City, Mexico. The USA team won all seven games to take the gold medal. The USA team played and beat Cuba twice, the team that had defeated them at the Pan Am games. Olkowski averaged 4.3 points per game. Olkowski was named to the team representing the US at the 1980 William Jones Cup competition in

. The USA team ended with a 7–2 record, which was a three-way tie for first place. The tie-breaker was point differential, and the USA did not win the tie-breaker, so ended up with the bronze medal. Olkowski was named to represent the US at the 1981 William Jones Cup competition in

. The team won seven of eight games to win the silver medal for the event. Olkowski scored 10.3 points per game and recorded a team high eleven assists, earning a spot on the All-Tournament team.

References

External links

Northwestern profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Olkowski, June 1960 births Living people All-American college women's basketball players American women's basketball coaches American women's basketball players Arizona Wildcats women's basketball coaches Auburn Tigers women's basketball coaches Basketball coaches from Pennsylvania Basketball players from Philadelphia Butler Bulldogs women's basketball coaches Maryland Terrapins women's basketball coaches Northwestern Wildcats women's basketball coaches Rutgers Scarlet Knights women's basketball players FISU World University Games gold medalists for the United States Universiade medalists in basketball Medalists at the 1979 Summer Universiade American people of Polish descent