Kathi Bennett (born January 31, 1963) is an American

women's basketball Women's basketball is the team sport of basketball played by women. It began being played in 1892, one year after men's basketball, at Smith College in Massachusetts. It spread across the United States, in large part via women's college compet ...

coach. She is the former head coach of the

Northern Illinois Huskies women's basketball The Northern Illinois Huskies women's basketball team is the college basketball team that represent Northern Illinois University (NIU) in DeKalb, Illinois, United States. The school's team currently competes in the Mid-American Conference (MAC). T ...

team, a position she held from 2010 to 2015.

Biography

Bennett is the daughter of former

University of Wisconsin–Green Bay The University of Wisconsin–Green Bay (UW-Green Bay, UWGB, or Green Bay) is a public university in Green Bay, Wisconsin, with regional campuses in Marinette, Wisconsin, Marinette, Manitowoc, Wisconsin, Manitowoc, and Sheboygan, Wisconsin, Shebo ...

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

Wisconsin Badgers The Wisconsin Badgers are the athletic teams representing the University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin). They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivisi ...

and

Washington State Cougars The Washington State Cougars (known informally as the Cougs) are the athletic teams that represent Washington State University. Located in Pullman, Washington, WSU is a member of the Pac-12 Conference in NCAA Division I. The athletic program co ...

head coach

Dick Bennett Richard A. Bennett (born April 20, 1943) is an American former college basketball coach who is best known for building the Wisconsin-Green Bay Phoenix men's basketball program into a mid-major power and revitalizing the Wisconsin Badgers basket ...

. Her brother is former

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

player and now

Virginia Cavaliers The Virginia Cavaliers, also known as ''Wahoos'' or ''Hoos'', are the athletic teams representing the University of Virginia, located in Charlottesville. The Cavaliers compete at the NCAA Division I level ( FBS for football), in the Atlantic C ...

head coach

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American retired singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a painter, having created works under his birth ...

. She graduated from

Stevens Point Area Senior High School Stevens Point Area Senior High (commonly called SPASH) is a high school located in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, United States. It is part of the Stevens Point Area Public School District. SPASH serves the Stevens Point area, including Stevens Point, P ...

Stevens Point, Wisconsin Stevens Point is the county seat of Portage County, Wisconsin, United States. The city was incorporated in 1858. Its 2020 population of 25,666 makes it the largest city in the county. Stevens Point forms the core of the United States Census Bur ...

and attended the

University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point The University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point (UW–Stevens Point or UWSP) is a public university in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. It is part of the University of Wisconsin System and grants associate, baccalaureate, and master's degrees, as well as ...

and the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay, where she played on the women's basketball teams at both schools.

Coaching career

Bennett served as a head coach at Marycrest College during the 1988–89 season before taking the same position at the

University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh (UW Oshkosh or UW Osh) is a public university in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. It is part of the University of Wisconsin System and offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree programs to nearly 14,000 students ea ...

. During her time there she led the team to the 1996 National Championship and was named Coach of the Year that season. From there she was the head coach with the

Evansville Purple Aces The Evansville Purple Aces are the intercollegiate sports teams and players of the University of Evansville, located in Evansville, Indiana. The Aces athletic program is a member of the Missouri Valley Conference and competes at the NCAA's Divis ...

and the

Indiana Hoosiers The Indiana Hoosiers are the intercollegiate sports teams and players of Indiana University Bloomington, named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Indiana. The Hoosiers participate in NCAA Division I, Division I of the Nationa ...

. After spending a period of time away from coaching, she became an assistant coach with the

before being hired to the head coaching position with the NIU Huskies.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Kathi 1963 births Living people American women's basketball coaches Basketball coaches from Wisconsin Basketball players from Wisconsin Evansville Purple Aces women's basketball coaches Green Bay Phoenix women's basketball players Indiana Hoosiers women's basketball coaches Northern Illinois Huskies women's basketball coaches People from Portage County, Wisconsin Wisconsin Badgers women's basketball coaches Wisconsin–Stevens Point Pointers women's basketball players Stevens Point Area Senior High School alumni