Rhonda Lee Rompola (born March 9, 1960) is an American college basketball coach who was most recently the head women's basketball coach at

Southern Methodist University , mottoeng = "The truth will make you free" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = SACS , academic_affiliations = , religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church , president = R. Gerald Turner , prov ...

(SMU) from 1991 to 2016.

Early life and education

Rompola was born and raised in

Sayreville, New Jersey Sayreville is a borough in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. Sayreville is within the heart of the Raritan Valley region, located on the south banks of the Raritan River, and also located on the Raritan Bay. As of the 2010 United Sta ...

. She graduated from

Sayreville War Memorial High School Sayreville War Memorial High School (SWMHS) is a four-year state school, public Secondary education in the United States, high school located in the Parlin, New Jersey, Parlin section of Sayreville, New Jersey, Sayreville, in Middlesex County, N ...

in 1978. From 1978 to 1980, Rompola played basketball at

Old Dominion University Old Dominion University (Old Dominion or ODU) is a public research university in Norfolk, Virginia. It was established in 1930 as the Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary and is now one of the largest universities in Virginia with ...

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

, averaging 10.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 3.5 assists and was part of two

AIAW The Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) was founded in 1971 to govern collegiate women's athletics in the United States and to administer national championships (see AIAW Champions). It evolved out of the Commission on Interc ...

championship teams. Rompola transferred to SMU in

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

. After redshirting one season per NCAA transfer rules, Rompola played at

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

at SMU from 1981 to 1983. With 21.3 points per game, Rompola was SMU's leading scorer in 1981–82. She graduated in 1983 with a business degree.

Coaching career

From 1983 to 1991, Rompola was an assistant coach at SMU before being promoted to head coach. In her first season as coach in 1991–92, she posted a 17–12 record, the team's first winning season since 1981–82 when she was a player. Overall, she posted a 439–317 () record at SMU. In 1998, SMU won its first-ever WAC tournament title, as it defeated 4th-ranked

Colorado State University Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a public land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University System. Colorado State University is classified among "R1: ...

in the final, and then 25th-ranked Toledo in the opening round of the NCAA tournament. In 1998 and 1999, Rompola guided the Mustangs to back-to-back 20-win seasons. She was named the 1999 WAC Coach of the year for her efforts. In 2007, SMU went 24–9, and finished second in Conference USA play with an 11–5 mark. Along with being SMU's all-time leader in coaching wins in any sport, she also earned an honorable mention on the all-time Old Dominion Lady Monarchs basketball team. She coached her 400th victory on February 21, 2013.

Personal life

Previously married to Steven Haddock, Rompola married men's basketball coach

Mike Dement David Michael Dement (born April 10, 1954) is an American college basketball coach who was most recently the head men's basketball coach at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He is married to former Southern Methodist University wome ...

in June 2007.

Head coaching record

References

American women's basketball players Living people 1960 births Old Dominion Monarchs women's basketball players People from Sayreville, New Jersey Sayreville War Memorial High School alumni Sportspeople from Middlesex County, New Jersey SMU Mustangs women's basketball coaches American women's basketball coaches Basketball coaches from New Jersey Basketball players from New Jersey Forwards (basketball) Women's Professional Basketball League players {{SMU Mustangs women's basketball coach navbox