Connie Yori Named 2010 Naismith Women's College Coach of the Year
Coach Becomes First Winner from Big 12 Conference

ATLANTA (April 7, 2010) – University of Nebraska head basketball coach Connie Yori has been named winner of the 2010 Naismith Women’s College Coach of the Year award, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced today.  In leading the 32-2 Huskers to a 17-game improvement over the 2008-09 campaign (15-16), she becomes the first women’s coach from the Big 12 Conference to claim the Naismith award.  

Other finalists included Geno Auriemma (University of Connecticut), Pat Summitt (University of Tennessee) and Tara VanDerveer (Stanford University).

Yori was chosen by the Atlanta Tipoff Club’s National Voting Academy, a collection of leading basketball journalists, coaches and administrators from around the country, which based its criteria on coaching performances throughout the season. The vote was tabulated and certified by the accounting firm of Habif, Arogeti & Wynne, LLP.  HA&W is the largest independent accounting firm in Georgia and one of the top 50 firms in the United States.

“Connie did a remarkable coaching job to not only greatly improve over last season but to position her team among the nation’s best this year,” said Gary Stokan, Atlanta Tipoff Club president. “We congratulate her tremendous success and proudly honor her as a Naismith Award winner.”

“This is a great honor for me, and I would like to thank all of the people who have supported and encouraged me throughout my career," Yori said. "This award is less about me and more about our team. I think we have the hardest working coaching staff in the country, and the commitment by my assistants has been unbelievable. Most importantly, this award really recognizes the amazing commitment and hard work of our players not only this year, but the players who came before them and helped build the foundation for our program."

Yori, the 2010 Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year, led Nebraska to a Big 12 record 30-game winning streak this season and set the school record for most wins in a season in the process.  Nebraska became the first Big 12 Conference team to finish a regular season with an unbeaten record (29-0), and just the second Big 12 team to go 16-0 throughout league play. Nebraska earned a No. 1 seed in the Kansas City Region and its first-ever NCAA Sweet 16. 

Yori owns a 153-99 record in eight seasons at NU and a 349-239 mark in 20 seasons overall. She has led Nebraska to a record seven consecutive postseason appearances (2004-10) and three NCAA Tournament appearances (2007, 2008 and 2010).

The Naismith Award, presented annually to the top men’s college coach, is the most prestigious national award in college basketball.  Summitt won the inaugural Naismith Women’s College Coach of the Year award in 1987 and went on to claim four more, while Auriemma claimed his sixth honor last year.  For more information, visit www.naismithawards.com.

Past Naismith Women’s College Coach of the Year winners include:

ABOUT THE ATLANTA TIPOFF CLUB
The Atlanta Tipoff Club, an Atlanta Sports Council property, is committed to promoting the game of basketball and recognizing the outstanding accomplishments of those who make the game so exciting. The Atlanta Tipoff Club, founded during the 1956-57 season, has presented the Naismith Trophy every year since UCLA’s Lew Alcindor first won the award in 1969.  Old Dominion’s Anne Donovan won the inaugural Women’s Naismith Trophy in 1983.

The Naismith Award has become the most prestigious award in all of college basketball, recognizing the Men’s and Women’s College Basketball Player of the Year, Men’s and Women’s College Basketball Coach of the Year, as well as awards for outstanding achievement in high school basketball, officiating, and contribution to the game.