Carol Owens Position: Associate Coach Experience: 10th season Alma Mater: Northern Illinois '90

Carol Owens begins her 10th season on the staff at Notre Dame, and her third as associate coach for the Irish. She was promoted to her current position in June 2002 by head coach Muffet McGraw.

Owens came to Notre Dame in 1995 following two years as an assistant coach at the University of Michigan. Her tenure has coincided with the Irish's rise to national prominence over the last nine years, as Notre Dame has gone 225-69 (.765) during her stay, averaging 25 victories per season with at least 20 wins in each campaign. The Irish also have qualified for the NCAA Tournament in every year of Owens' stay, reaching the second round each time en route to six Sweet Sixteen appearances (1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004), two Final Four berths (1997, 2001) and the school's first NCAA championship in 2001.

In her role at Notre Dame, Owens' main focus has been developing the Irish post players, several of whom have achieved tremendous success under her tutelage. Ruth Riley (1997-2001) capped off her Notre Dame career as the consensus national player-of-the-year, and she and Katryna Gaither (1993-97) both earned All-America recognition. Riley, Gaither and Kelley Siemon (1997-2001) all were drafted into the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) following their Notre Dame careers.

Using the base of knowledge she gained while working under Owens' watchful eye, Riley led the Detroit Shock to the 2003 WNBA Championship and was named the Finals MVP after scoring a career-high 27 points in the decisive third game. Riley is the first women's basketball player ever to earn Finals MVP honors at both the college and professional levels.

"Carol Owens is one of the top assistant coaches in the nation, and in my opinion, she is the best skills coach in the country when it comes to the post position," Riley said. "As a young player, I was very grateful to find a school where I knew I would develop fundamentally at my position. Coach Owens has personal experience of being an All-American post player, and she uses that knowledge teach and mold young student-athletes. I am very grateful for the time she invested in making me the best post player I could be."

Four current Irish players have earned national or conference recognition under Owens' guidance. In 2001-02, forward Jacqueline Batteast was the United States Basketball Writers' Association (USBWA) National Freshman of the Year, a Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA)/Kodak All-America team finalist, and was a unanimous choice as the BIG EAST Conference Rookie of the Year. Batteast also was a finalist for the 2002 USA Basketball World Championship for Young Women Qualifying Team, after attending the USA Basketball National Team Trials with center Teresa Borton. In addition, their teammate and another Owens pupil, forward Katy Flecky was named BIG EAST Rookie of the Week on Feb. 25, 2002. And, forward Courtney LaVere made a big splash in her freshman season of 2002-03, earning BIG EAST All-Rookie Team honors.

Owens also has garnered a reputation as a top-notch recruiter. She has helped the Irish land nine consecutive Top 20 recruiting classes from 1997-2003, including the '01-02 freshman corps, which was ranked third-best in the nation by the Blue Star Index, and this year's rookie class, which was ranked 14th nationally by the same publication. In addition, Owens was named one of the top five assistant coaches in the country by Women's Basketball Journal in 2001.

"Carol has made a major impact on our program from day one," McGraw said. "She's the very best in the country, both as a coach and a recruiter. She's done a super job of attracting the right people to Notre Dame and then teaching them to reach their maximum potential. She expects and demands the best from every player she coaches and that's why our post game is so good."

As a standout player at Northern Illinois University from 1986-90, Owens compiled a very impressive resume. A two-time Kodak District IV All-American, Owens finished her career at Northern Illinois with 13 school records. She also scored 2,102 points and averaged 18.0 points per game over four campaigns and 117 games. She captained the Huskies for four seasons and, in her final collegiate campaign (1989-90), she guided Northern Illinois to its best record in school history (26-5) as the Huskies went undefeated in North Star Conference play (12-0) and earned the school's first-ever NCAA Tournament bid.

Owens finished her career as Northern Illinois' all-time leader in scoring, blocked shots, free throws, free throw attempts and field goal percentage. In addition, she was the first player (male or female) in school history to score 2,000 points and grab 1,000 rebounds. A native of Chicago, Ill., Owens received her Bachelor of Arts degree in communications from Northern Illinois in 1990. She was selected by the faculty of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences to serve as Commencement Marshal of her graduating class and was named Northern Illinois' Outstanding Woman. In addition, Owens was the recipient of the Student Leadership Award.

Following her graduation from NIU, Owens enjoyed a three-year professional basketball career in Japan, Spain and Italy. In 1995, Owens was inducted into the Northern Illinois University Athletic Hall of Fame and followed up that honor with her induction into the Illinois Basketball Hall of Fame in April 2001.