Career Record: 504-188 (22 years)
1998 Pac-10 Coach of the Year
The winningest coach in Arizona women's basketball history, Joan
Bonvicini has nurtured the Wildcat program into an upward-rising women's
basketball powerhouse. In 10 years at the helm of the Arizona program,
Bonvicini has guided the Wildcats to six straight postseason appearances,
including four NCAA tournament berths and two in the WNIT.
Under Bonvinci's tutelage, the Wildcats have finished in the upper half
of the Pac-10 in each of the last six years. During this time, Arizona has
been nationally ranked multiple times, including a best-ever ranking of
ninth in 1998.
Bonvicini's success is mirrored in her players' accolades. She has
produced one All-American, a Pac-10 Player of the Year, a Pac-10 Freshman of
the Year, 14 All-Pac-10 honorees, 11 Pac-10 All-Freshman Team choices and
six Academic All-Pac-10 selections.
Bonvicini herself has earned her share of laurels, having twice been a
finalist for both the Naismith College Coach of the Year Award and the
Associated Press College Coach of the Year Award. She was also the 1998 WBCA
Region 8 Coach of the Year and the 1998 Pac-10 Coach of the Year.
Bonvicini holds a 179-117 (.605) mark in 10 years at Arizona and is
504-188 (.728) in 22 years as a head coach. She is 23-14 in NCAA tournament
play and has never lost a first-round game in 14 appearances.
During Bonvicini's tenure at Arizona, the Wildcats have re-written the
women's basketball record book and have chalked up many historical moments.
Last year, Bonvicini guided a young and inexperienced group of Wildcats
through a season of adversity to garner a 20-12 mark. The Cats tied the 2000
team for the best start (14-2) in the history of the program and set or tied
39 school records. Junior forward Elizabeth Pickney and senior guard Reshea
Bristol each earned First Team All-Pac-10 honors for the first time in their
careers.
During the off-season, Bonvicini took her team on a 16-day tour of Italy,
their second such visit to that country. The squad earned a 5-1 mark on that
trip, even though only seven Wildcats were available to play.
The 1999-2000 squad finished in the top four of the Pac-10 for the fifth
consecutive year and earned the program's fourth straight NCAA bid. The Cats
set or tied 23 school records and finished the year with a 25-7 mark, the
best overall record in the history of the program. Arizona went 13-5 in
Pac-10 play, tying for second place and equalling the team's highest
conference finish ever.
Despite having what some considered a "rebuilding" year in 1999,
Bonvicini guided the Cats to their third NCAA tournament appearance in as
many years. That young, inexperienced squad garnered an 18-11 record and
finished fourth in the league standings.
In her time at the UA, Bonvicini has directed the Wildcat program into
uncharted waters many times. In the summer of 1997, Bonvicini took the
Wildcats on a first-ever trip to Australia, in order to prep them for an
important upcoming 1998 season. Despite facing experienced international
talent, she directed the Cats to a 7-1 mark over the 18-day tour.
That trip provided the Wildcats with a vital bonding experience that
stuck with them into the 1997-98 season and aided in the program's best ever
Pac-10 mark of 14-4. The UA, which tied UCLA for second in the league
standings, finished the regular season with a 21-6 record-the program's
fewest number of losses in 23 years.
Bonvicini's 1998 Wildcats had one All-American, one All-Pac-10 honoree,
four honorable mention All-Pac-10 players and one Pac-10 All-Freshman Team
member, as well as the Pac-10 Player of the Year. Nominated for both
Naismith College Coach of the Year and Associated Press Coach of the Year,
Bonvicini capped the regular season by earning her first-ever Pac-10 Coach
of the Year honors.
Bonvicini then led Arizona women's basketball further into uncharted
territory, as the Wildcats made the "Sweet Sixteen" while in only their
second-ever NCAA tournament appearance.
After finishing the 1997 season with a school-record 22 regular-season
wins, Bonvicini's Wildcats earned the school's first bid to the NCAA
Tournament. A win over Western Kentucky in the first game maintained
Bonvicini's undefeated record in first-round NCAA competition, and the Cats
went on to strongly challenge sixth-ranked Georgia in the second round.
One of the most respected coaches in the game, Bonvicini was chosen in
1991 to direct The University of Arizona's dormant women's basketball
program into the next decade.
Since her arrival in 1991, she has taken the Wildcat program and turned
it upside down. The team, never before linked with the Pac-10 Conference
powers, is now among the feared competitors in the league -- Bonvicini's
teams play hard. In 1996, Bonvicini's team made Wildcat history with their
first-ever postseason appearance, where they brought home the NWIT
Championship trophy.
Attendance has skyrocketed -- Arizona ranks among the conference leaders.
Nationally recognized recruits are visiting Arizona and signing on to play.
Never before had the University or the city seen anyone throw so much time
and effort into a team that had produced precious few victories in the last
decade.
In 1991-92, her first season with the Cats, Bonvicini brought fans out in
record numbers. Attendance nearly tripled, and the spirited coach led her
team to upsets over her former team, No. 25 Long Beach State, and its
first-ever win over Washington.
Her second season was no different; the Cats produced the most victories
by an Arizona squad since 1986. They split every Pac-10 road trip, upset No.
23 California and won at UCLA for the first time. Crowd support was at an
all-time high as the Cats ranked third in the Pac-10 in attendance.
In the summer of 1993, Bonvicini took her team on a 13-day, six-game tour
of France and Italy. It was a first for any women's team at Arizona and the
results paid off. The team formed a cohesive unit entering the 1993-94
season, opening with a four-game winning streak that was snapped only by a
two-point loss to No. 1 Tennessee in McKale Memorial Center. The team
finished with the most victories since 1986 and the most Pacific-10
Conference wins ever at the time.
Bonvicini has implemented a recruiting effort that sweeps the nation; she
and her assistants spend countless hours and thousands of miles criss-crossing
the country looking for the nation's finest talent.
Her first true recruiting class, in 1992, was ranked seventh in the
nation by the Blue Star Report. In 1994, Bonvicini had what she called her
"finest recruiting class" since arriving in Tucson. It proved to be true as
Adia Barnes was named Pac-10 Conference Freshman of the Year in 1995, and in
1998 was chosen the Pac-10 Player of the Year, as well as a third team
All-American. The members of that recruiting class have graduated now, but
they will forever be remembered as the foundation upon which a nationally
prominent Arizona women's basketball program was built.
Bonvicini came to Arizona after concluding a 12-year tenure at Long Beach
State with a record of 325-71 (.820). Her teams captured 10 Big West
Conference titles in 12 consecutive winning seasons, never winning less than
24 games in a season.
During her tenure, the 49ers made 10 straight NCAA Tournament appearances
and reached the elite level twice, appearing in the Final Four during both
the 1987 and 1988 seasons. Her teams were ranked in the Associated Press
Top-20 poll each year, staying in the top 10 every year but one. The 1985
squad finished the season at No. 3 with a 28-3 record.
Bonvicini's players earned recognition as well. Among her teams at Long
Beach were 1983 Wade Trophy winner and three-time first team All-American
LaTaunya Pollard, two-time first team All-American and 1988 U.S. Olympic
Team member Cindy Brown, 1985 first team All-American Kirsten Cummings and
two-time first team All-American Penny Toler.
Many of these former players went on to play at the professional level.
Two former LBSU players -- Cindy Brown and Penny Moore -- and former
Wildcats Adia Barnes, Reshea Bristol, Marte Alexander and Felecity Willis
were all part of the player pool for the WNBA last season, while former
49ers Kirsten Cummings and Dana Wilkerson were members of the now-defunct
American Basketball League. Another former LBSU player, Penny Toler, is now
the general manager for the WNBA Los Angeles Sparks.
Bonvicini began her coaching career upon graduation from Southern
Connecticut. An East Coast native, she moved west to serve as an assistant
coach at Cal Poly-Pomona in Southern California. From there, she was hired
as an assistant at Long Beach State and promoted, in 1979 at age 25, to head
coach, after two years at the university.
In her second year as a head coach, Bonvicini went 27-7 and was named the
1981 NCAA Division I Coach of the Year. Following the 1985-86 season, she
was named the Region VIII and PCAA Coach of the Year. She earned WCAA Coach
of the Year honors in 1984 and has also been honored as the 1989 "Citizen of
the Year" in Long Beach.
In 1993, she was selected as head coach of the United States World
University Games team. She guided the squad to a bronze medal in the first
games to be held in the U.S. She served as a member of the selection
committee for the USA Olympic Basketball Team and spent the summer of 1991
as an assistant coach for the U.S. Pan American Team.
In 1990 she guided the U.S. Select Team to a 5-1 record in international
play. In 1981, Bonvicini was head coach of the West squad in the U.S.
Olympic Festival and in 1982 was an assistant on the U.S. National Team.
Bonvicini has made the rounds on the international circuit as well.
During the summer of 1996, Bonvicini was selected to be the head coach of
the Pac-10 All-Star Team which toured Japan. The group spent 10 days touring
Japan and competing against the Japan All-Star Team.
She has been an at-large representative to the USA Games Committee for
Women for the 1989-92 quadrennium and has been a part of selection
committees for the U.S. Olympic Festival, World Championships, Pan American
Games, World University Games and the Olympics. She served as president of
the Women's Basketball Coaches Association in 1988.
Bonvicini does not confine her skills to the court. She travels the
speakers' circuit tirelessly and has participated in numerous basketball
seminars and camps, including stints as a guest instructor in Italy. She was
a member of the women's basketball NCAA Rules Committee from 1994-98 and is
currently on the board of directors for both the Tucson Area Girl Scouts and
the Boys and Girls Club of Tucson.
A 1975 graduate of Southern Connecticut State, Bonvicini, a guard, led
her teams to third and fourth place finishes in the 1974 and '75 AIAW
Championships. She earned 1975 Region I-A MVP and honorable mention
All-America honors and was a finalist for the 1976 U.S. Olympic Basketball
Team.
Bonvicini was inducted as a player into the Southern Connecticut State
University Hall of Fame in 1989 and the Connecticut Women's Basketball Hall
of Fame in 1994. In October of 1996, she was inducted as a coach into the
Long Beach State University Hall of Fame
