Press Release :: Women's Basketball Coaches Association

ATLANTA, Ga. - The Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) has selected Hofstra University’s Krista Kilburn-Steveskey as the recipient of the inaugural Maggie Dixon Rookie Coach of the Year award. This distinguished award honors a WBCA Division I head coach who has lead their team to a successful season during their first year at the helm.

“It is exciting to see fresh faces take the reins of a program and lead the team to a successful first season,” said WBCA CEO Beth Bass. “Krista Kilburn-Steveskey receives the inaugural Maggie Dixon Rookie Coach of the Year Award. We look forward to the continued impact that she will have on the world of women’s basketball.”

Kilburn-Steveskey took over the Hofstra squad that returned four starters and was coming off it’s first-ever Division I postseason appearance. Hofstra finished 2005-06 with the second-most wins in school history. The 2006-07 squad took that success even further, finishing the year with a 26-8 record and advancing to the WNIT Quarterfinals with wins over Seton Hall and South Carolina. The team set records (Division I era only) for wins in a season, road wins (13), conference wins (13) and home wins (12).

In arguably the greatest season in school history, Kilburn-Steveskey guided Hofstra to wins over teams from the Big 10 (Michigan State), Big East (Seton Hall) and Southeastern (South Carolina) conferences. In addition, the Pride’s stunning win over then-#17 Michigan State was Hofstra’s first-ever over a ranked opponent.

Kilburn-Steveskey posted the best record of any true first year head coach and had the third best record among coaches in their first year at their current institution, as she follows Dave Magarity of Army (23 years at Marist) and Sharon Versyp of Purdue (former head coach at Indiana and Maine).

Kilburn-Steveskey will be honored at the Russell Athletic/WBCA National Coach of the Year Luncheon presented by AstraZeneca on Monday, April 2, 2007, at 12:00 p.m. (ET) 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® in Cleveland, Ohio.

The Maggie Dixon Rookie Coach of the Year award is in honor of the late Maggie Dixon, former Army head coach, whose success during her inaugural year at the Army helm was remarkable. The Black Knights won the Patriot League title in 2006 and Dixon was named the Patriot League Coach of the Year after leading Army to the NCAA Tournament for the first time at the NCAA Division I level. Coach Dixon passed away on April 6, 2006, just a few weeks following their appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

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.