IUPUI Head Coach Shann Hart Chosen National Female Coach of the Year

IUPUI Coach, Shann Hart

INDIANAPOLIS – IUPUI Head Women’s Basketball Coach Shann Hart has been selected National Female Coach of the Year by the Black Coaches Association the organization announced today.

Hart earned the distinction for guiding the Jaguars to one of the best turnarounds in the country in 2005-06. This past season, IUPUI finished the year 17-11 overall and 11-5 in Mid-Continent Conference play. They had more overall and conference wins than the entire 2004-05 and 2003-04 campaigns combined.

The team’s 17 wins set a school Division I record, while their 11 wins in Mid-Continent Conference play were the most in school history. The squad’s 10-game turnaround from 2004-05 tied them for the fourth-best improvement among all NCAA Division I schools.

The Jaguars were picked to finish eighth in the preseason poll conducted before the 2005-06 season. However, they ended the season in second place, their best-ever ranking. The team’s win over Chicago State in their regular season finale on Feb. 27 was the 150th win of Hart’s coaching career.

Last year the Jags held their opponents to the second-lowest shooting percentage in school history. The opposition’s 35.9 percentage is the lowest mark in 29 years since the 1976-77 season.

The Jaguars performance last year on the court earned Hart Mid-Con Coach of the Year honors in a vote of the conference coaches and media.

During the summer of 2005, Hart distinguished herself by being selected to serve as a court coach at the USA Basketball National Team Trials. The trials featured approximately 57 of the nation’s top high school and collegiate players and were used to select finalists for the 2005 USA U19 and World University Games teams.

LSU’s Pokey Chatman and Temple’s Dawn Staley were the other finalists.