Theresa Grentz Biography

With 30 years as a women's collegiate head basketball coach tucked away in the record books Theresa Grentz ranks sixth in wins on the NCAA's all time list.

After a sterling coaching career at Rutgers, Grentz took over a failing University of Illinois women's basketball program in May of 1995 and has successfully turned downtrodden Fighting Illini women's basketball into a nationally recognized basketball program.

Grentz has proven to be all Illinois could hope for when they hired her. She holds the record for most wins in school history. Her contract to coach the Fighting Illini has been extended twice taking her through the 2007-08' season making her tenure at UI a total of 17 years, obviously she's doing something right.

Grentz has coached UI to seven straight post-season tournaments, five NCAAs and two WNITs. They have won the only Big Ten title in school history. Attendance, boosted by the fact the Illini have routinely been ranked in the Top 25, has skyrocketed since she has been at the helm, attaining a 700 percent increase.

In 1976 when Grentz was hired to coach the Rutger women's basketball team she became the first full time women's basketball head coach in the country.

Grentz's coaching career at Rutgers spanned 19 seasons in which she led the Lady Knights to an outstanding 434-150 record (.743) winning percentage, won at least 20 games 14 times and made nine consecutive postseason NCAA Tournament appearances.

During her tenure at Rutgers her Lady Knights teams won six Atlantic 10 regular season titles and four Atlantic 10 tournament titles. They went 156-28 (.848) winning percentage in Atlantic 10 conference play.

While at Rutgers Grentz's stellar coaching work brought her several awards. Following the Lady Knights 1986-87' season when the team set a school record, going 30-3, a blistering (.909) winning percentage she earned the Converse National Coach of the Year award. She's been named; the Newark Star Ledger Coach of the Year, the March of Dimes Coach of the Year, the Metropolitan Women's Basketball Association Coach of the Year, the Kodak District II Coach of the Year (twice) and won the Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year award four times.

The 1981-82 Lady Knights finished the season with a 25-7 record (.781) winning percentage and went on to win the AIAW (the forerunner to the NCAA) National Championship. The 1993-94' Lady Knights achieved history when they knocked off the then number 1 AP ranked Tennessee Lady Vols, the only unranked team ever to defeat an AP number 1 ranked team.

Grentz has enjoyed success not only on the domestic women's basketball scene but internationally as well. She led the 1992 U.S. Olympic team to a bronze medal in Barcelona where the U.S. team won their first three games by an average of over 45 points per game and ultimately defeated a strong Cuban team for the bronze.

Before she coached the Olympic team Grentz had gained a great deal of international experience. She coached the U.S. Dial Junior National Team in Yugoslavia in 1981, the U.S. Maccabiah Team in Israel, winning a silver medal the same year. She led the U.S.A. Select Team to a gold medal in 1985 at the Jones Cup Tournament held in Taiwan, coached the U.S. World University Games team in 1989 at Toronto, the U.S. World Championships team in Malaysia and the Goodwill Games team in Seattle, both in 1990 winning gold medals at both tournaments.

Grentz, who was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2001, became only the eighth coach in NCAA women's basketball history to reach the 600 victory plateau.

A press release from the University of Illinois Board of Trustees in September of 2003 stated: The University of Illinois Board of Trustees today approved the contract extension for Illinois Head Women's Basketball Coach Theresa Grentz through the 2007-08 season.

Following the announcement of Grentz's latest contract extension at UI the Director of Athletics Ron Guenther said, "I am pleased we were able to extend a contract to Coach Grentz. We both discussed a national championship at Illinois when she came here. She has accomplished a great deal since 1995, but we haven't completed the job yet. I feel under Coach Grentz's leadership, this is possible at Illinois."

Teresa Grentz is not only a Hall of Fame basketball coach but she has given of her time and talents to being a strong advocate of women's basketball. She is on record saying her goal is to "unite women's basketball into one voice". To that end she became president of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association.

She has taken an active role in the growth of both the WBCA and women's basketball by participating in clinics, writing articles, traveling the country to get the message out and speaking out on behalf of the women's basketball coaching profession.

Across the nation and throughout Illinois Grentz has been involved in the community, giving of her time to charity work and basketball clinics for youth. She and the Illini men's basketball program have joined together to become one of the most successful Coaches vs. Cancer groups in the country.

Grentz, who believes you need community support to build a winning program has made hundreds of appearances at public events during her time at UI. She has spoken to all the public service organizations, Lions, Kiwanis, the Rotary Club and any other group she could get to speak to. The overwhelming positive support she has received from these groups has made her extremely popular her home county. Grentz hosts her own television show and is a regular guest on several local radio shows. In addition to all this she supports other sports at UI.

In another outreach effort to the community Grentz encourages organizations and grade school teams to watch the UI women's basketball team practice. She is responsible for starting a tradition at Illinois home games of seating kids in the eighth grade and lower under the Illinois basket. Unbelievably, before every home game starts she gives the kids in what is known as "Grentz Gang" high-fives and spends some time talking with them. Talk about building community relations, it doesn't get any better than this.

Grentz and her husband, Karl, have two sons, Karl and Kevin.

Some of her accomplishments include:

30 years as a women's collegiate head basketball coach
Ranks sixth in women's basketball wins on the NCAA's all time list
First full time women's basketball head coach in the country - Rutgers 1976
Coached at Rutgers 19 seasons
Led the Lady Knights to 434-150 record (.743) winning percentage
Won at least 20 games 14 times
Coached Rutgers to nine consecutive postseason NCAA Tournament appearances
Her Lady Knights teams won six Atlantic 10 regular season titles
Won four Atlantic 10 tournament titles
Coached Lady Knights to 156-28 (.848) winning percentage in Atlantic 10 conference play
Named Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year four times
Inducted into the NIKE Hall of Fame - 1992
Earned Kodak District II Coach of the Year twice - 1992-93' & 1987-88'
Named March of Dimes Coach of the Year - 1990-91
1986-87' team set a school record, going 30-3 (.909) winning percentage
Earned Converse National Coach of the Year award - following the 1986-87' season
Named Newark Star Ledger Coach of the Year - 1985-86'
Won AIAW (forerunner to NCAA) National Championship - 1982
Lady Knights only unranked team ever to defeat #1 AP ranked team - 1993-94'
Led the 1992 U.S. Olympic team to a bronze medal in Barcelona
Coached six U.S. National Teams - winning three gold medals and one silver
Eighth coach in NCAA women's basketball history to reach 600 victory plateau
Inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2001
Holds the record for most wins in Illinois University history
Coached IU to seven straight post-season tournaments - five NCAAs and two WNITs
Won the only Big Ten title in UI's history
Attendance increased by 700 percent since her arrival
Named Big Ten Coach of the Year consecutive years - 1997 & 1998
Consecutive Kodak District IV Coach of the Year awards - 1997 & 1998
IBCA Coach of the Year - 1997