April 3, 2002
Athletics Director Deborah Yow's Opening Statement:
Nothing is as satisfying as hiring your number one coach for an important coaching position. We've been blessed to achieve that when we hired Coach Friedgen for football, Coach Cottle for men's lacrosse Coach Novak for women's tennis, Coach Rupp for baseball and Coach Cirovski for women's soccer. Today we are proud to introduce our No. 1 choice for women's basketball. The 2002 Associated Press Coach of the Year and Big Ten Coach of the Year, Brenda Frese.
Coach Frese has already achieved more at Minnesota and Ball State than many coaches achieve in an entire career. She is a dynamic leader with the 'X and O' knowledge, controlled intensity and passion that it will take to rebuild our women's basketball program. She and her staff will, over time, put Maryland in a position to win the national championship. Watch out, ACC.
I offer my personal thanks to Kathy Worthington and to the other members of the search committee for their excellent work.
Kathy Worthington Senior Associate Athletics Director for Internal Operations:
I'd like to begin by expressing my thanks to the search committee. Their commitment of time, their insight and their knowledge allowed us to make what I think is one of the best hires in the country. When we looked at Brenda's list of accomplishments it was very impressive. What was more impressive was what she did in one year at the University of Minnesota. She took a program that was 8-20 and finished with a 22-8 record, orchestrating the greatest single season turnaround in the Big Ten Conference history. She swept Big Ten Player of the Year, Big Ten Freshman of the Year and Big Ten Coach of the Year honors. She had a team with a gpa of almost 3.0. This coach took a program that went from averaging 1,000 fans to one that averaged over 4,000 fans in one season, and in doing so, broke five school attendance records, including one game where they had more than 14,000 fans in attendance. They were ranked 18th in the final AP poll and made a very impressive NCAA tournament run. When the committee met this candidate in person, we saw that this coach shares the same work ethic, integrity and get-it-done winning attitude that is the hallmark of this athletic department. We knew all of that, coupled with Brenda's cutting edge technical 'X and O' knowledge, would make her the coach that would take this program back to national prominence in a few years.
New Maryland Women's Basketball Coach Brenda Frese:
Opening statement:
"It's hard to believe that less than 48 hours ago I was sitting in my living room in Minneapolis, Minn. watching Gary Williams and his team win a national championship. Now, here I am. I think one of Coach Williams' players summed it up the best when he said, 'anybody who has ever played would love to win a national championship.' That is why I am here.
Unlike Coach Williams, I am not a University of Maryland graduate, but I am confident that we still share the same passion, dedication and desire to take Terrapin basketball to the absolute top of the college ranks. As Coach Williams will attest to, getting there is never easy or a quick fix. As many of you know, Monday's win was the first National Championship in Maryland's 79-year history, but I doubt few would argue that it wasn't worth the wait.
I am here for one reason: to rejuvenate this program. I have been given this tremendous opportunity by an administration with a vision that extends beyond the walls of the state of Maryland and the conference. First and foremost I would like to thank President Dan Mote, Athletics Diriector Debbie Yow, and Associate Athletics Directors Kathleen Worthington and Rob Mullens and the rest of the selection committee for giving me this opportunity of a lifetime.
Revising programs is never without tough times or tough decisions. Wins and losses are rarely measured on the court or shown on the box score. They start with consistency on the court and in the classroom, hard work, dedication and believing in a common goal and a united perspective of what Maryland basketball is all about. This program was built on the foundation laid by Chris Weller. Twenty-seven years she gave to a program, to a university and to a team she believed in. I am honored to follow in her footsteps and hope to extend the great tradition of excellence in women's basketball that she helped to create.
Maryland basketball has a rich tradition, one that is deeply rooted in the coaches that drive it. It is absolutely my goal to keep the best players at home and build our team from the inside out. With amazing facilities like the state-of-the-art Comcast Center, a supportive administration and an elite talent pool to draw from, I am confident and excited for the challenges that lie ahead."
On recruiting in the area:
It is a deep rich state and I am very excited about the challenge and the opportunity because there is so much talent both in the Baltimore and Washington areas, as well as in the neighboring states. In the basketball sphere, to be able to go out and make those kind of contacts is exciting, to be able to bring a lot of talented players here to the University of Maryland. I welcome and look forward to the challenge.
On rebuilding programs in the past:
I feel fortunate that I have been able to learn from and be a part of so many programs in the rebuilding process. Obviously when I was an assistant under Bill Finley at Iowa State we were able to rebuild a program, and then at Ball State took over a similar situation, and then at Minnesota. I really don't feel that Maryland is a total rebuilding process. I feel fortunate to be able to come in and bring energy and enthusiasm and really revive this program. It was exciting to visit with the players last night because they're hungry and are excited and ready to establish their own tradition.
On leaving Minnesota:
All I can say is that I'm excited about the turnaround that we had at the University of Minnesota and I feel very confident that we were able to leave that program with the players now in a position to be very successful. They will continue to be successful, and I feel very fortunate to be given this opportunity here at Maryland to bring in the energy and enthusiasm to put Maryland at a level of national prominence.
On Minnesota's reaction to her new position:
I'm disappointed to here those comments because I have nothing but positive feelings for the University of Minnesota and those aren't the kinds of things that attract a person to take a job or leave a job. I feel I had a great experience at the University of Minnesota. I'm sure the people there are very disappointed that they're not going to have the same leadership, but they're going to continue to go on and be successful. With the timing of everything I'm sure they're disappointed as well, but I feel that this was a tremendous opportunity, the chance of a lifetime, to be able to come in here and help this women's basketball program.
On her history of quickly improving programs:
Obviously people can look back at that trend and I think it's fortunate to be able to come into programs and rejuvenate them so quickly. To make a move from Ball State to a high power conference like the Big Ten, I don't think anyone could have envisioned the turnaround that we were going to have at Minnesota in just one short season. I'm excited about the opportunity here at Maryland because it's in the most powerful women's basketball conference and I definitely look to find a place where we can settle down and call home and be able to build a program that can last for a lifetime. I'm dedicated to this program and signed a six-year contract, so I'm looking forward to spending a lot of time at this program.
On the keys to success in the past:
I really believe first and foremost that you have to be able to come in with a plan. You have to be organized and know how you're going to communicate that plan to your players. After you get through that point, I'm a big believer that you really want to be able to instill confidence in your players. When they see that they're hand-in-hand together - having an organized plan and knowing what direction you're headed in - they're going to continue to have confidence. I think the biggest difference when we went to Ball State was that they believed we could win. That's what I want to do here at the University of Maryland. Every time we step out on the floor, we want to know and believe that we have a chance to win and be competitive.
On coaching in the ACC:
I'm so excited to be a part of the ACC. You look at the quality of the coaches and the programs that are in the ACC. You have Gail Goestenkors who was in the Final Four and Debbie Yow's sister Kay Yow at NC State and Sylvia Hatchell from North Carolina, who I had the pleasure to coach against in the NCAA tournament. I'm really looking forward to playing against the best competition out there.
On the chances of turning things around at Maryland next season:
I think you have to take your time and assess the talent. Once we're able to assemble a staff and get going and see the players who are currently on the roster, as well as the incoming scholarship players, we'll look and see what direction we're headed in. It's exciting because I know these players are very hungry and ready to work and I am looking forward to being able to meet the incoming players that have signed.
