Michigan State University Athletics
Joanne P. McCallie Named Associated Press Coach Of The Year
4/2/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
April 2, 2005
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State head coach Joanne P. McCallie was named Associated Press Coach of the Year at a press conference today at the women's Final Four, where McCallie's Spartans will play Tennessee Sunday night in the national semifinals. McCallie garnered 18 votes, outdistancing Baylor's Kim Mulkey-Robertson, who finished second with eight votes. She is the first Michigan State women's coach to be named national coach of the year, and the fourth Big Ten coach to receive the honor from the Associated Press, joining Iowa's Angie Lee (1996), Purdue's Carolyn Peck (1999) and Minnesota's Brenda Oldfield (2002).
"It's truly an honor for me, my family, my staff, for Michigan State -- all the wonderful people who have helped me try to develop things," McCallie said. "It's hard to fathom all that input."
McCallie, in her fifth season at MSU, has led the Spartans to the greatest season in school history. Michigan State is making its first appearance in the Final Four after having never been past the second round previously. The Spartans won a share of their second-ever Big Ten regular season title with a school-best 14-2 league record and won their first ever Big Ten Tournament title.
McCallie has guided the Spartans to a 32-3 record, smashing the previous school record for wins in a season (23). MSU is in the midst of a school-record 16-game winning streak and had its best-ever home record with a 13-0 mark at the Breslin Center. The Spartans have beaten 12 nationally-ranked teams, easily surpassing the previous school record of five in one season. Among the Spartans' victims have been No. 1-ranked Stanford, No. 2-ranked Ohio State and No. 3-ranked Notre Dame, marking the first times MSU has ever beaten teams with those national rankings.
McCallie, whose five-year record at MSU stands at 100-55, was named Big Ten Coach of the Year by the league's media, earning her fourth conference coach of the year award after winning three such honors during eight seasons at Maine (1992-2000). She is making her third straight appearance with Michigan State in the NCAA Tournament, after the Spartans had only made three NCAA Tournament appearances in their history prior to her arrival. She also went to six straight NCAA Tournaments while at Maine.
Michigan State will play Tennessee in the second national semifinal, Sunday at approximately 9:30 p.m. Eastern time.
