Opposing women’s basketball teams will now have to deal with one of the nation’s legendary coaches through the 2024-25 season.
DePaul, which has competed in 17 consecutive NCAA tournaments, extended the contract of iconic Hall of Fame coach Doug Bruno to keep him on the bench for six more seasons.
The NCAA tournament streak puts the Blue Demons in elite company as only four other programs (Connecticut, Notre Dame, Stanford and Tennessee) have accomplished the feat.
The 2018-19 season saw Bruno work more of his magic. His team was at the crossroads on Feb. 3 after a Super Bowl Sunday loss to BIG EAST regular-season champion Marquette. That left DePaul with a 15-7 overall record, 6-4 in the BIG EAST and by no means a shoo-in for another NCAA postseason.
The coach challenged his players to become more accountable and close with a strong finish. All the Blue Demons did was win their next 11 games including a heart-pounding 74-73 victory over Marquette for the BIG EAST tournament title and automatic NCAA tournament bid. It was DePaul’s fourth BIG EAST tournament title in the last six years.
Bruno & Co. finished up 26-8, surpassing the 20-win mark for the 12th year in a row and the 16th time in the last 17 seasons.
The Blue Demons led the nation in three-point attempts and were No. 3 in the country in three-pointers and threes per game. They wound up being ranked No. 24 in the final Associated Press national rankings and No. 25 in the final coaches poll. They also set a program record for free throws, converting at .775 percent.
Entering his 34th year heading up the DePaul program, Bruno has amassed a sensational record of 694-342 in Lincoln Park. Including his two seasons at the helm of the women’s pro basketball franchise Chicago Hustle, his overall coaching record is 734-372. His DePaul teams have a winning percentage of nearly .700 in conference games.
Bruno’s coaching influence extends to a global level as an assistant coach on the last two Olympics gold-medal USA women’s basketball teams. As head coach, he led a USA under-18 national team to the FIBA Americas gold medal in 2006 and a U-19 national team to the 2007 World Championships gold medal.
“DePaul has always been a really special place because of people like Ray Meyer whom I was blessed to play for, and because of people like Jean Lenti Ponsetto, Dr. Patricia Ewers and Gene Sullivan,” Bruno said. “I have been blessed to coach at DePaul.
“While we are proud of what we have achieved, there is still so much more to accomplish. I would like to thank DePaul President Dr. Gabriel Esteban and our university administration for demonstrating their belief in our desire to achieve those goals.
“My tremendous staff and our talented players fire me up every day to take this women’s basketball program to places it has never been before.”
DePaul Athletics Director Ponsetto is ready to watch her women’s basketball coach make history.
“We are once again delighted to extend coach Bruno’s contract which keeps him at DePaul through 2024-25,” Ponsetto said. “We share his vision of academic and athletic excellence along with the personal growth and development of all the outstanding student-athletes in our program and the opportunity to maximize their great potential.
“We continue to work with coach Bruno to provide him and his staff the many resources they need to help grow our program to the next level of ascending to the NCAA summit.
“Our women’s basketball program is already in exclusive company as evidence by being one of only five programs to have competed in the last 17 NCAA tournaments which in and of itself is an amazing accomplishment.”
