Jennifer Marie Rizzotti (born May 15, 1974) is a retired American collegiate and professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player, and former Division I coach at

George Washington University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , preside ...

. She is the president of the

Connecticut Sun The Connecticut Sun are an American professional basketball team based in Uncasville, Connecticut that competes in the Eastern Conference (WNBA), Eastern Conference of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was established ...

. Rizzotti was inducted into the

Women's Basketball Hall of Fame The Women's Basketball Hall of Fame honors those who have contributed to the sport of women's basketball. The Hall of Fame opened in 1999 in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. It is the only facility of its kind dedicated to all levels of women's bask ...

in 2013.

High school

Rizzotti attended

New Fairfield High School New Fairfield High School is the only public high school in New Fairfield, Connecticut, United States. It enrolls approximately 500 to 700 students annually in grades 9-12 from New Fairfield, as well as students from the neighboring town of Sherman ...

New Fairfield, Connecticut New Fairfield is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 13,579 at the 2020 census. New Fairfield is one of five towns that surround Candlewood Lake, the largest lake in Connecticut. The town is located nor ...

. The basketball court at the New Fairfield town park was named after Rizzotti in honor of her achievements. She also attended ASIJ in Tokyo, Japan.

College

From 1992 to 1996, she was one of the stars of the women's basketball team at the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from Hart ...

. She was the starting

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the five Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position. Point guards are expected to run t ...

on the Huskies first national championship team in 1995, which recorded a perfect season, winning all 35 games. Rizzotti's picture was on the cover of

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...

magazine in recognition of the perfect season. Jen was awarded the prestigious

Honda-Broderick Cup The Honda-Broderick Cup is a sports award for college-level female athletes. The awards are voted on by a national panel of more than 1000 collegiate athletic directors. It was first presented by Tom Broderick, an American owner of a women's sport ...

for 1995–96, presented to the athlete "most deserving of recognition as the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year." She was named the 1996 Associated Press Player of the Year. Rizzotti was a member of the inaugural class of inductees to the University of Connecticut women's basketball "Huskies of Honor" recognition program. Rizzotti won the

Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award The Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award was an annual college basketball award in the United States intended to honor shorter-than-average players who excelled on the court despite their size. The award, named in honor of James Naismith's daughter-in-la ...

during the 1995–96 basketball season. This award is given to the best women's basketball player in the country under 5'6' tall. During the 1995–96 season Jennifer set school records for assists with 212 and steals with 112. Jennifer graduated with a degree in biology. Sports Illustrated did a series of thirteen photographs featuring players on teams that were chasing or achieved undefeated seasons. The cover photo of Jennifer Rizzoti racing upcourt is one of the photos in the collection.

USA Basketball – player

Rizzotti was invited to be a member of the Jones Cup team representing the US in 1996. She helped the team to a 9–0 record, and the gold medal in the event. Rizzotti averaged 2.6 points per games, while recording 26 assists, highest on the team.

Awards and honors

* 1993— Big East Co-Rookie of the Year * 1996—

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 ...

* 1996—

Associated Press Women's College Basketball Player of the Year The Associated Press Women's College Basketball Player of the Year award was established in 1995 to recognize the best women's college basketball player of the year, as voted upon by the Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American ...

* 1996—Winner of the

Honda Sports Award The Honda Sports Award is an annual award in the United States, given to the best collegiate female athlete in each of twelve sports. There are four nominees for each sport, and the twelve winners of the Honda Sports Award are automatically in th ...

for basketball * 1996—The

winner for all sports. * 2013 – Inducted into the

Professional

She began her career as a professional basketball player playing for the

New England Blizzard The New England Blizzard was a women's professional basketball franchise based in Hartford, Connecticut. The Blizzard was a charter member of the American Basketball League (1996–98), American Basketball League (ABL). Playing from 1996 through 1 ...

of the now defunct American Basketball League. During that time she was a two-time All-Star, Rizzotti was a member of the

Houston Comets The Houston Comets were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Houston. Formed in 1997, the team was one of the original eight WNBA teams and won the first four championships of the league's existence. They are one of two ...

after being drafted in 1999, and played for the Comets in 1999 and 2000. The Comets won the League Championship both seasons.Porter p 399 In 2001, she was traded to the Detroit Shock, but a month later, she was traded to the Cleveland Rockers. She played for the

Cleveland Rockers The Cleveland Rockers were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Cleveland, that played from 1997 until 2003. The Rockers were one of the original eight franchises of the WNBA, which started in 1997. The owner was Gordon Gu ...

from 2001 to 2003. Rizzotti was selected in the dispersal draft by the Detroit Shock in January 2004, but she retired from the WNBA.

Coaching

Rizzotti was recently the head basketball coach at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. She previously spent 17 seasons as the head women's basketball coach at the

University of Hartford The University of Hartford (UHart) is a private university in West Hartford, Connecticut. Its main campus extends into neighboring Hartford and Bloomfield. The university attracts students from 48 states and 43 countries. The university and it ...

where she led the

Hawks Hawks are birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are widely distributed and are found on all continents except Antarctica. * The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks and others. This subfamily a ...

to four

America East Conference The America East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I founded in 1979, whose members are located in the Northeastern United States. The conference has nine core members including eight public research u ...

championships and six trips to the NCAA tournament. She was named America East Coach of the Year in 2006, 2007, and 2010. In 2010 Rizzotti guided Hartford to an undefeated regular season in the America East Conference and was one of the 10 finalists up for the Kay Yow Coach of the Year. Rizzotti served as the head coach of the

USA Basketball USA Basketball (USAB) is a non-profit organization and the governing body for basketball in the United States. The organization represents the United States in FIBA and the men's and women's national basketball teams in the United States Olympi ...

U18 team, at the 2010 FIBA Americas U18 Championship for Women in June 2010 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs CO. She previously served as an assistant coach of the U18 team, assisting head coach

Doug Bruno Richard Douglas Bruno (born November 7, 1950) is the head coach of the DePaul Blue Demons women's basketball team. In 2016, he completed his 30th season as head coach. Under his tenure, the Blue Demons have qualified for post-season competition p ...

in 2006, when the team went 4–0 to win the gold medal. In 2011, Rizzotti was named USA Basketball National Coach of the Year. She was the head coach for the USA U18 team, which won the gold medal at the 2010 FIBA Americas U18 Championship. She continued as head coach of the U19 team and guided the team to another gold medal at the FIBA U19 World Championship games held in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

Hall of Fame

Rizzotti was inducted in the

in June 2013. In her emotional acceptance speech she summarized, "I'm in the Hall of Fame because I played at the right school, at the right time with the right teammates, and I was taught to be a champion by the best coach who's ever coached the game." Her credentials included point guard on the 1995 National Championship team, and winner of the

and AP national player of the year award.

Personal life

Rizzotti grew up in

and graduated from

in 1992. She is the daughter of Tom and Carol Rizzotti.Porter p 398 Rizzotti was inducted into the Connecticut Women's Basketball Hall Of Fame in 2001. Rizzotti married

assistant Bill Sullivan in July 1999. The two welcomed their first child, Holden Thomas Sullivan, born . The couple's second child, Conor, was born on . Rizzotti was honored by her alma mater, the University of Connecticut, as the winner of the Red O'Neill Award, an award given annually to a former student athlete who has "gone on to distinguish themselves in their chosen career." Rizzotti was honored by The University of Hartford in 2010 as commencement speaker. Additionally she received an honorary doctorate degree from the university.

University of Connecticut statistics

Head coaching record

Source:

Notes

References

External links

Official Biography, George Washington ColonialsWNBA player profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rizzotti, Jennifer 1974 births Living people All-American college women's basketball players American women's basketball coaches American women's basketball players Basketball coaches from Connecticut Basketball coaches from New York (state) Basketball players from Connecticut Basketball players from New York (state) Cleveland Rockers players George Washington Colonials women's basketball coaches Hartford Hawks women's basketball coaches Houston Comets players New England Blizzard players People from New Fairfield, Connecticut People from White Plains, New York Point guards Sportspeople from Fairfield County, Connecticut Sportspeople from Westchester County, New York UConn Huskies women's basketball players