Joan Bonvicini
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Joan Bonvicini is one of the winningest coaches in women's basketball history. The former head coach at University of Arizona joined the program in 1991 after 12 years at Long Beach State, where she was 325-71. The 49ers won 10 Big West Conference titles, made 10 straight NCAA appearances, had 12 consecutive winning seasons, and never won fewer than 24 games in a season. Bonvicini guided the 49ers to Final Four appearances in 1987 and 1988.
She is the all-time winningest coach in the history of University of Arizona. She guided the Wildcats to 9 post-season appearances, including 1 Women's National Invitational Tournament Championship. The Wildcats finished in the upper echelon of the Pacific Ten conference 9 years under her direction. In February 2007, Bonvicini reached the 600 win milestone, becoming the 18th coach in NCAA Division I women's basketball history to reach this mark.
She coached many great players at Long Beach, including LaTaunya Pollard, the 1983 Wade Trophy winner, 3-time 1st team All-American, 1980 Olympic Team member, and member of the women's basketball hall of fame; 2-time 1st team All-American and 1988 U.S. Olympic Team member Cindy Brown; 1985 1st team All-American Kirsten Cummings; and 2-time 1st team All-American Penny Toler (now the GM for the WNBA Los Angeles Sparks).
At Arizona, she has coached 1 All-American, 5 honorable mention All-American selections, 1 Pac-Ten Player of the Year, and 14 Academic All Pac-Ten selections.
She holds a career mark of 612-294 as a head coach, including a 287-223 record at Arizona.
Bonvicini was fired as the Arizona women's coach on March 17, 2008, with one year left on her contract, after completing her final season with a record of 10-20. Bonvicini will be paid through March 2009. [1]
She is a 1975 graduate of Southern Connecticut, where as a guard she led her team to 3rd and 4th place in the AIAW Championships (the AIAW existed prior to the NCAA allowing women to compete for national titles). Bonvicini was also 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 Hall of Fame. Bonvicini began her coaching career under the wings of two of the game's finest: Darlene May of Cal Poly Pomona and Dr. Frances Schaafsma of Long Beach State.
