Lady Pioneers Head Coach Steve Harold Recognized in the
2007 Russell Athletic/WBCA Regional Coaches of the Year Honors
ATLANTA, Ga. - The Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) is
proud to announce the 2007 Russell
Athletic/WBCA Regional Coach of the Year winners for the National
Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the
National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and the
National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA).
Steve Harold, Glenville State College athletic director and head coach
of the Lady Pioneers was honored in
the NCAA Divsion II, Region 2 category. Harold was recently selected as
WVIAC Coach of the Year for the
third time. And in 2002 he was also named West Virginia Coach of the
Year as well.
The Lady Pioneers recently captured the NCAA East Region, Division II
Women's Basketball Championship.
They are expected to leave Monday, March 19, for Nebraska to participate
in the NCAA Elite Eight National
Women's Basketball Championship. The Lady Pioneers have an overall 33-2
record, a mark no other women's
team has achieved in the history of the conference. The team ended the
season ranked second in the nation in
the USA Today / ESPN poll among Division II teams, and for several weeks
held the number one spot in the NCAA
East Region polls. Those ranking represent the highest ever experienced
by any previous WVIAC team.
This marks the second trip Harold has made to the Elite Eight
Championship, during his 12 years of coaching
at Glenville State College. His 2002 team captured the East Region
Championship as well.
Other NCAA Division II coaches honored are: Karen Haag, College of Saint
Rose, Region 1; Dean Walsh, Carson-
Newman College, Region 3; Lynn Plett, Lewis University, Region 4; Karl
Smesko, Florida Gulf Coast University,
Region 5; Josh Keister, Missouri Western State, Region 6; and Dave
Krauth, Augustana College, Region 7.
A total of 36 coaches were honored nationally in NCAA Division I, NCAA
Division II, NCAA Division III,
NAIA, and JC/CC.
The winners are selected through a two-level process. The first level
is by region, in which coaches from each WBCA
geographical region vote for their respective top coach. If a coach has
been selected as Regional Coach of the Year,
they advance as a finalist to the national level of the selection
process along with the other Regional Coaches of the Year
in their respective division. The number of coaches varies depending on
affiliation.
NCAA Division III Final Four coaches are eligible to be considered for
the Russell Athletic/WBCA National Coach of the
Year even if they are not named the coach of the year for their
respective region.
The winners of the WBCA National Coach of the Year for each division
will be honored on Monday, April 2, 2007, at
12:00 p.m. (ET) during the Russell Athletic/WBCA Coach of the Year
Luncheon /presented by AstraZeneca/in the
Crowne Plaza's Grand Ballroom. The luncheon is part of the 2007 WBCA
National Convention, held in conjunction
with the NCAA® Women's Final Four®.
Founded in 1981, the WBCA promotes women's basketball by unifying
coaches at all levels to develop a reputable
identity for the sport and to foster and promote the development of the
game in all of its aspects as a sport for women
and girls. For more information about the WBCA, please visit WBCA.org.
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