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Marquette Women's Head Coach: 1996 - present

Few have matched the success of head coach Terri Mitchell.

Mitchell owns more wins, has a better winning percentage and has taken her teams to more post-season action -six NCAA Tournaments and four WNIT's - than any previous Marquette women's basketball coach. In each of the last six seasons, the Golden Eagles have earned a postseason berth - including last season's Women's National Invitation Tournament Championship.

On the court, Mitchell's teams are known for their well-balanced offense coupled with a tenacious style of defense.

Off the court, Mitchell's teams are also known for their academic excellence. During her tenure as head coach, Marquette has graduated every player that has stayed for all four years of academics and athletics.

Since becoming the fourth women's basketball coach in Marquette University history, Mitchell has paved a path of excellence.

That path began in her very first year, as Mitchell was at the helm for the largest turnaround in school history. She guided MU to a 21-10 record in 1996-97, which was 13 wins better than the previous season's record of 8-20. It was the largest turnaround of any first-year head coach and third-best single-season turnaround among all NCAA Division I schools that year.

Since then, Mitchell has compiled a 238-130 overall record - an average of over 19 wins per season - which includes 10 trips to the postseason and eight 20-win seasons.

Her student-athletes have earned numerous individual accolades, both on and off the court. Since 1996, 18 of Mitchell's players have earned all-conference honors, while two have achieved All-America status, with Krystal Ellis becoming MU's latest All-America selection following the 2006-07 season. In addition, 27 have earned spots on the league's Academic Honor Roll and two have been awarded has a Golden Eagles women's basketball player earned GTE Academic All-America honors.

For the 2007-08 season, Mitchell led the Golden Eagles to do what just one other program in Marquette history has done- win a national championship. The road wasn't easy but the Golden Eagles fought through adversity together to learn how fun and exciting it is to play in April.

With the youngest team in the conference the Golden Eagles won over 20 games for the third straight season. Marquette finished 8-8 in BIG EAST play, in a league that sent 8 teams to the NCAA tournament and 12 overall to post season play. Marquette finished the season with a five-game win streak- it's longest of the season-and Marquette finished the season as one of two women's college basketball teams in the nation to end the season with a victory. Junior Krystal Ellis was named First Team All-BIG EAST for the second consecutive season and freshman phenom Angel Robinson was an all-freshman team selection. Both continued their stellar play through the team's championship run and were honored with WNIT All-Tournament Team accolades. Ellis was named tournament MVP, while Robinson was an all-tournament selection.

Following its championship run, Marquette was honored by the City of Milwaukee and Mayor Tom Barrett as each proclaimed April 15, 2008 Marquette Women's Basketball Day. Mitchell earned, for the second consecutive year, Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association Division I Women's Coach of the Year honor.

The 2006-07 season was one for the history books as Mitchell guided the Golden Eagles to their best season ever, a 26-7 overall record. It was the seventh season in which her team won 20 or more games. After being picked eighth in the BIG EAST preseason poll, Marquette started the season winning 15 of its first 16 games, and jumped into the national polls on December 4 for the first time since the 1999-2000 season. The season for the ages included a school record 14-game win streak and being among the Top 25 for a majority of the season. During that streak Mitchell won her 200th game on Dec. 9, 2006. In BIG EAST play, the Golden Eagles finished tied for second place with Rutgers registering 12-4 conference record. For her efforts, Mitchell received the league's highest honor and was named the BIG EAST Coach of the Year. It was Mitchell's third coach of the year honor.

More awards continued to follow Mitchell at the conclusion the 2006-07 season as she was elected to the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Executive Committee as its Treasurer and tabbed the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association Division I Women's Coach of the Year. She was also named a Woman of Influence by the Milwaukee Business Journal in the category of inspiration.

Marquette made a trip back to the “big dance” behind the inside-outside combination of All-BIG EAST First Team selections Krystal Ellis and Christina Quaye, and the leadership of three seniors, Jasmine McCullough, Danielle Kamm and Efueko Osagie-Landry.It was the first time in program history two players were first team all-conference selections in the same year.

In 2005-06, Marquette made a remarkable postseason run, advancing to the championship game of the Women's National Invitation Tournament. Led by All-BIG EAST honorees Christina Quaye, Carolyn Kieger, and BIG EAST All-Rookie team member Krystal Ellis, the Golden Eagles posted a 22-11 overall record, including a 9-7 record in conference play before falling in the final game at Kansas State.

During the 2004-05 campaign, MU qualified for its third consecutive postseason appearance by earning a spot in the WNIT. Led by Second Team All-Conference USA honorees Carolyn Kieger and Christina Quaye, the Golden Eagles finished with an overall record of 18-12.

In 2003-04, the team tied a school record for wins, with 22, and advanced to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament. In the first round, playing as the ninth seed in the Mideast Region, MU defeated Old Dominion, 67-64 as Christina Quaye hit the go-ahead layup with 5.8 seconds left. In the next game, the Golden Eagles gave the nation's No. 1 ranked team, Duke, all it could handle and opened the eyes of many around the country.

The 2003-04 campaign was typical of the Terri Mitchell era. Offensively, the team was balanced, as eight different players led the team in scoring during a game over the course of the season. Games were won with defense and teamwork, as MU led Conference USA in scoring defense, yielding just 57.2 points per contest.

Mitchell led the 2002-03 Golden Eagles to a 16-14 mark and a spot in the Women's National Invitation Tournament, advancing to the second round. That season, the team set new school records in three-point shooting and free throw shooting percentages.

The third game of the 2001-02 season, Mitchell reached the 100-victory milestone, as the Golden Eagles downed Alaska-Anchorage, 88-50, in the Great Alaska Shootout. On Jan. 27, she became Marquette's all-time winningest coach in a 65-44 victory over Tulane. That season, the Golden Eagles continued to be one of the best defensive squads in the nation, holding the opposition to just 59.6 points per game. That total was tied for the top spot in Conference USA and tied for 10th in the NCAA.

At the end of that season, Mitchell was elected to the Board of Directors of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association, an honor in which she took great pride.

From 1996-2000, Mitchell led the Golden Eagles to four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances and four straight 20-win seasons - the first such streak in program history. For her efforts, she was honored by her peers as Conference USA Coach of the Year twice, in 1998 and 2000.

Her 1999-2000 squad finished the season in fine fashion, winning 13 of its last 15 regular season contests as it claimed the regular season C-USA championship and a berth in the NCAA Mideast regional. Guiding her squad to a 14-2 conference record, Mitchell earned her second C-USA Coach of the Year honor. That season, Marquette led Conference USA and was 10th in the nation in defense with a 36.4 shooting percentage allowed.

Mitchell led the 1998-99 squad to a 21-8 overall mark and a 12-4 record in C-USA play. For her efforts, Mitchell was named the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association Women's Basketball Coach of the Year. Marquette allowed its foes to shoot just 39.0 percent from the field and out-rebounded its foes by 8.0 boards per game, a stat that topped C-USA and was sixth in the nation.

In 1997-98, the Golden Eagles finished 22-7 overall and had a 13-3 record in Conference USA play, capturing the American Division title en route to being named the 1998 Conference USA Coach of the Year.

In her first season at the helm of the Golden Eagles, Mitchell set a few precedents. She shattered the record for most wins by a Marquette first-year head coach, with 21, and holds the distinction of reaching 50 wins faster than any coach in Marquette history. In addition, she became the only coach in school history to take her team to the NCAA Tournament in her first season.

Not only did she take the 1996-97 Golden Eagles to the Big Dance, but they also recorded the first NCAA Tournament win in school history.

Prior to becoming head coach, Mitchell had been an assistant for the Golden Eagles for five seasons. She was instrumental in recruiting Marquette's 1996-97 freshman class, which was ranked 12th in the nation by the Blue Star Index. Marquette posted an 87-61 record and made three postseason appearances during Mitchell's tenure as an assistant.

In addition to her basketball duties, Mitchell is active in the community and is very involved with charitable events. Through her work, she has touched the lives of many.

She is an avid speaker on campus, at local schools, for nonprofit organizations and basketball clinics. Through her speaking engagements she instills the foundation of the program that surround five principles: believe, commit, mature, respect and thankfulness. She also hosts motivational breakfasts entitled “Breakfast with Terri,” for Milwaukee area business women.

Mitchell believes in giving back to the profession and the community by serving on the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) committees as well as the board, the Midwest Athletes against Childhood Cancer (MACC) Fund Board of Directors, and many other service-oriented groups. In May of 2006, Mitchell took a mission trip to Rwanda where she spent 16 days and learned many life lessons.

Service is not only a large part of Mitchell's life, but it is of her team as well. The Golden Eagles are involved in many service projects throughout the year including Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Metro Milwaukee, Al's Run and Walk, Susan B. Komen Race for the Cure, the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund, the American Heart Association, school speaking engagements and clinics.

A native of Harrisburg, Pa., Mitchell was a four-year letterwinner and team co-captain at Duquesne University. After an outstanding career with the Dukes, Mitchell graduated cum laude with a psychology degree in 1989. She began her coaching career serving as a graduate assistant at Arizona State during the 1989-90 season.