Saint Peter’s University Director of Athletics Joe Quinlan has announced the hiring of Pat Coyle as the women’s basketball head coach. Coyle is the seventh head coach in program history.
Coyle makes her return to the Metro Atlantic Conference (MAAC) after coaching Loyola from 1993-98 while also coming back to the New York metropolitan area. Coyle spent more than 10 years with the WNBA’s New York Liberty, including five plus seasons as the head coach.
"I am excited to welcome Pat Coyle as our women’s basketball coach," said Quinlan. "Pat brings a great knowledge of the game and experience at both the collegiate and professional ranks. Patknows what it takes to be successful in the MAAC and in the metropolitan area as a result of her previous coaching stints. We believe her background will position us well to recruit skilled women’s basketball student-athletes and return the program to a prominent position in the conference."
Coyle comes to Jersey City after serving as Agnus Berenato’s Associate Head Coach at Pittsburgh for the last three seasons. The Panthers advanced to the Big East Tournament second round in her first season in Pittsburgh.
"First off I would like to thank Joe Quinlan and the Saint Peter’s community for this unbelievable opportunity," said Coyle. "My staff and I will look forward to getting Saint Peter’s back on track and competing again for MAAC Championships."
Prior to returning to the collegiate coaching ranks with the Panthers, Coyle was a coach in the WNBA. The Liberty recorded a 181-167 record in her time with the team as a head or assistant coach, including an 81-89 mark as the head coach.
She took over the Liberty 16 games into the 2003 season and guided the team to an 11-6 mark to help the team finish second in the East Conference and advanced to the conference finals. New York participated in the first round of the postseason in 2005 after she guided the squad to an 18-16 mark. After the Liberty also participated in the first round of the postseason in 2007, Coyle helped the team return to the conference finals in 2008 after posting a 19-15 record.
Coyle joined the WNBA organization in 1999 as an assistant coach and helped the Liberty register a 77-51 record in the first four years with trips to the WNBA Finals in 1999, 2000 and 2002 and to the conference finals in 2001.
Coyle joined the New York Liberty after a successful run as the women’s basketball head coach at Loyola from 1993-98. She posted a 100-77 record in her six seasons in Baltimore. Coyle’s 100 victories and her .565 winning percentage as a head coach rank second in team history.
She took over a Greyhounds’ team that had won 26 games in the previous five campaigns and a squad that posted an 8-21 record in 1992-93 to improve Loyola’s win total by eight games in her first year with a 14-15 record. The team also went 8-6 in MAAC play in only its second season in the league, but it marked the program’s first–ever winning record in conference play since the school joined a league in 1984-85.
Coyle then guided the Greyhounds to their only two MAAC Championships and NCAA Tournament appearances. Loyola went 18-11 overall and 12-2 in the league in 1993-94. The squad defeated Canisius, Saint Peter’s and Fairfield to win the MAAC Tournament before falling to Virginia in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Greyhounds repeated as MAAC Tournament champions the next season with a 20-9 record and a 7-6 mark in league play before beating Siena, Saint Peter’s and Fairfield for its second tournament title. Loyola lost to Oklahoma in the NCAA first round that season.
Loyola then posted its second-ever 20-win season in program history in 1997-98 after going 20-9 overall and 13-5 in league play, but the squad lost to Fairfield in the MAAC Championship Game.
Prior to her first head coaching position at Loyola, Coyle served as an assistant coach for three seasons at Saint Joseph’s. In her three seasons, the Hawks went 59-31 overall and 36-22 in the conference play. During her first season in Philadelphia, Saint Joseph’s went 24-7 and 16-2 in the league slate to earn at at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
A 1982 graduate of Rutgers, Coyle returned to her alma mater to serve as an assistant coach for her former head coach and Women’s Basketball Hall of Famer Theresa Grentz from 1985-89. She helped the Scarlet Knights to a 110-19 record with two trips to the "Elite 8" and two appearances in the "Sweet 16." Rutgers won 20 games in each of her four years as an assistant coach, including a 30-3 record in 1986-87.
Coyle got started in the coaching ranks at the University of Miami with a two-year stint from 1982-84. The Hurricanes went 33-25 in her two years, including a 19-12 mark in 1983-84.
Coyle was a standout women’s basketball player at Rutgers from 1978-82. Playing along side her twin sister Mary, the Coyle duo helped the Scarlet Knights to a 108-22 record in their four seasons together. Rutgers participated in the AIAW Tournament all four seasons, but Coyle’s pinnacle moment came when she scored 30 points in the AIAW National Championship Game in an 83-77 victory against Texas in her hometown of Philadelphia, Pa., to be named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament. She was named to the EAIAW All-Region team in 1980-81 and was named the team Most Valuable Player for that season.
An inaugural member of Rutgers Hall of Fame in 1993, Coyle finished her career with the fourth highest point mark in program history (1,209) and currently ranks 23rd in team history. A three-year starter, she also registered 382 points, 394 assists and 192 steals in 129 career games. She ranked second in career assists only to her sister when she left Piscataway and now ranks ninth on the chart while she established a program record for games played upon the completion of her playing career and now stands in eighth place. While at Rutgers, Coyle was a member of the United States Olympic Festival gold medal women’s basketball team in 1979 and 1980 and also won a gold medal at the 1980 Pan American Games.
She has also been inducted into the West Catholic Hall of Fame in 1999 and the New Jersey Sportswriter Hall of Fame in 2009.
Success in the coaching ranks is a family affair after Coyle’s twin sister Mary has been a high school coach for the last 29 years at the Rutgers Preparatory School in Somerset, N.J. Mary has guided her teams to 10 NJISAA Prep B State Championships and three Somerset County Championships while also serving as the head coach of the East squad at the 2011 McDonald’s All-American game.
