June 26, 2002
EVANSTON, Ill. - Regina (Reggie) Grennan, a 1990 Arizona graduate, was named to the Northwestern women's basketball staff today by Wildcats' Head Coach June Olkowski. Grennan replaces Cleve Wright, who left to take the head coaching job at Gannon University in Erie, Pa.
"Reggie completes our staff," said Olkowski. "She adds a dimension to our program that we have never had before. She played for me at Arizona and understands what our program is trying to accomplish. She also has substantial international playing experience which can only help develop our players."
Grennan comes to Evanston having served as a Division I assistant at both Richmond University and St. Joseph's University (Pa.). After spending just one season (1990-91) with the Spiders, Grennan spent the next 10 with the Hawks in Philadelphia. In those 10 seasons, Grennan's responsibilities encompassed all aspects of management necessary for the development of a program. Those responsibilities included the personal coaching of all players at the guard position, some of which went on to play professionally. Two Grennan-coached Hawks competed at the 2002 Sydney Olympics, while three others have gone on to play in either the ABL or WNBA. Grennan also participated in all phases of the recruiting process, including extensive work overseas in which she developed and maintained "partner" relationships with foreign coaches.
During the 2000-01 season, Grennan took over interim head coaching duties for the Hawks with 11 games remaining in the season. She went 5-6 in those games with three of the losses coming to NCAA qualifiers Xavier (twice) and George Washington.
Along with the physical development of student-athletes, Grennan helped instill an aggressive defensive attitude. That attitude steered the team's defense to a position among the top-10 in the country nine of the 11 years she was a coach, including a No. 1 ranking for St. Joe's in 1994.
Grennan's international experience includes both coaching and participating. From 1999 to 2001, Grennan served as a player/coach for the Irish National Team. She spent two seasons playing with the squad, serving as an assistant in her first year before assuming player/coach duties in her second year.
Grennan graduated from the University of Arizona with a bachelor of science degree in child development/family studies. As a coach, she has helped produce 11 consecutive winning seasons that include six NCAA appearances, one NIT appearance, three conference championships and eight Philadelphia Big Five championships (St. Joe's).
As a student-athlete, Grennan received Arizona's "Golden A" award for combined academic and athletic excellence. The former all-time Wildcat assist leader (522)-a record that has since been broken-Grennan also graduated as the school's fifth all-time leading scorer (925) and fourth all-time rebounder (519).