With 55 wins, head coach Tracy Roller became the all-time winningest coach in women's basketball history, but that line doesn't tell the story. Sure, she won 55 games to pass Robyn Markey's 54, but she also contributed greatly to the turnaround of a program.
Markey coached the Cardinals for seven years and in that time compiled a 54-127 record, including no winning seasons and one .500 season. In her last season in 1999, Ball State finished with a 9-17 overall and 6-10 Mid-American Conference record. Markey decided to resign, and that is when Tracy Roller came to Ball State, then as an assistant to head coach Brenda Oldfield.
At that time, three high school seniors were looking for a place to play college basketball. Those three seniors are current Ball State seniors Johna Goff, Jessica Reiter and Julie Just. Before knowing what Oldfield would do to the struggling program, they chose to Ball State.
After committing to the program, they saw Oldfield go 16-13 in her first season. When they were able to put on a Ball State uniform the following year, they helped Oldfield go 19-9 in her second campaign. Oldfield then decided to leave Ball State for Minnesota after performing a miraculous 180-degree turnaround, and the reins were turned over to Roller, who continued the success as we know it today.
The process of turning a program around is not an easy one, especially the 180 that Oldfield was able to perform. Akron's second-year coach, Kelly Kennedy, is currently trying to turn around a program that went 1-27 the year two seasons ago. In her first year, she was only able to get a 2-26 mark and while this season is going much better at 5-10, it probably won't be anything like the winning season Oldfield brought the Cardinals.
While much credit for the programs turnaround is given to coaches Oldfield and Roller, just as much needs to be sent to the players. Roller has coached some of the best in the MAC, including two-time player of the year Tamara Bowie and current player Johna Goff.
"It's been awesome to have been a part of this program's turnaround," Reiter said. "I think it not only says a lot about her, but about us: how we've worked hard and how we've improved."
While Roller enjoys the acknowledgement of her accomplishment, she has said she can't really enjoy it until she reaches the ultimate goal of winning the MAC Tournament and qualifying for the NCAA Tournament.
"I'm pretty driven so when success comes, it's fun to be a part of, but it's also hard for me because I'm not satisfied with where we are right now," Roller said. "I want to get better, and I want our team to be better, and we haven't reached a lot of the goals that we set for ourselves since I've been a head coach."
Just as Goff told me, "an accomplishment is an accomplishment," but let's make sure we remember to celebrate when the Cardinals do reach that ultimate goal.
Oh, and why not wait long enough to celebrate when Roller accumulates more wins then her eight predecessors combined. That would be 241, and at this pace should only take about nine more seasons.
Write to Justin at jnhesser@bsu.edu
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
