Bill Fennelly

2011 USA Women's World University Games Team Head Coach

A three-time USA Basketball gold medalist as an assistant coach, Bill Fennelly takes on his first USA Basketball head coach position with the 2011 USA Women's World University Games Team. Previously, he helped the USA to a gold medal and an 8-1 record at the 2009 FIBA U19 World Championship in Thailand; a gold medal and 5-0 record in the 2008 FIBA Americas U18 Championship in Argentina; and a gold medal and 3-1 record with the South Team in the 1994 U.S. Olympic Festival. Overall, he owns a 16-2 record with USA Basketball.

Fennelly has spent 16 seasons (1995-96 to present) as head women's basketball coach at Iowa State University, where he has compiled a 354-160 record (.689 winning percentage) and led the Cyclones to 14 postseason tournaments.

Including seven seasons (1988-89 to 1994-95) as the head mentor at The University of Toledo, Fennelly owns 23 seasons as a collegiate head coach. He has tallied a career slate of 520-213, and his 70.9 winning percentage ranks among the top 25 active winningest NCAA Division I coaches. In a combined 23 seasons at Iowa State and Toledo, Fennelly has posted a 20-win season 17 times.

Most recently in 2010-11, he piloted the Cyclones to a 22-11 record and an NCAA Tournament appearance.

In 2009-10, he led his team to a 25-8 record and the NCAA Sweet Sixteen, and with a 27-9 mark in 2008-09 he tied the program's record for number of wins.

In his first year at Iowa State in 1995-96, Fennelly took over a program that had recorded just five winning seasons in its 22-year history. He has since led the Cyclones to the 1999 and 2009 NCAA Elite Eight; the Sweet Sixteen in 2000, 2001 and 2010; and the second round in 1998, 2002, 2007 and 2008. Additionally, he led his team to the Women's National Invitational Tournament (WNIT) Final Four in 2004 and the WNIT second round in 2006.

Fennelly is a three-time finalist for the Naismith Coach of the Year Award (2001, 2002 and 2005), and his peers twice have voted him WBCA District 5 Coach of the Year (1999 and 2005).

His 17 seasons with the Cyclones are highlighted by the only two Big 12 Conference Tournament titles in school history (2000 and 2001) and the program's best record of 27 wins, recorded in 1999-00, 2000-01 and 2008-09.

Fennelly came to ISU from Toledo, where he compiled a seven-year record of 166-53 (.758 winning percentage). His list of accomplishments at Toledo include six 20-plus win seasons and six postseason tournament berths. He guided the Rockets to three NCAA Tournament appearances, as well as second, third and fifth place finishes in the WNIT. In 2003, he was inducted into the Toledo Varsity 'T' Hall of Fame.

A native of Davenport, Iowa, Fennelly accumulated 12 years of collegiate experience as an assistant coach prior to accepting his first head coaching position, including stints at his alma mater William Penn College (1976-77 through 1980-81), Fresno State University (1981-82 through 1985-86) and the University of Notre Dame (1986-87 and 1987-88).