Creighton women’s basketball head coach Jim Flanery announced the hiring of former Bluejay head coach Connie Yori as Program Advisor for women’s basketball on Tuesday, Jan. 23.
Rejoining the Creighton athletic staff for the first time since 2002, Yori’s specific duties include working with the Bluejay women’s basketball staff to create and develop game strategy, scout Creighton’s opponents and participate in on-campus recruiting.
“Bringing Connie on staff will have tremendous value for our program both in the immediate future and in the long term,” said Flanery. “Day-to-day she adds unique experience as a former head coach to break down game film and ask questions from a different perspective. In addition, she is someone who has both understood our program from the inside, but has also been outside the program for many years. She’ll be able to give us an idea of where we can improve overall.”
Arguably the most decorated women’s basketball coach in the state of Nebraska, Yori’s head coaching career spanned 26 seasons at Loras College (1990-92), Creighton (1992-2002) and Nebraska (2002-16). Yori compiled a record of 475-306 during her career, including a 170-115 mark at the helm for the Bluejays. Yori guided nine different squads to the NCAA Tournament, including runs to the Sweet 16 in 2010 and 2013. The 2010 National Coach of the Year (Kay Yow, Associated Press, USBWA and Naismith), Yori led her team to a 29-0 regular season record. She also collected Coach of the Year honors in the Missouri Valley (2002), the Big 12 (2010) and the Big Ten (2013 & 2014).
Beyond her storied coaching career, Yori was one of Creighton’s greatest on the court. A Bluejay Hall of Fame inductee in 1992, Yori is one of just two Creighton players to have their number hang in the rafters of D.J. Sokol Arena. She graduated in 1986 as Creighton’s leading scorer with 2,010 points, a number that still ranks third all-time. She also remains in the Bluejay top-10 in scoring average (1st – 20.3 ppg), rebounding (8th – 746), assists (7th – 399), steals (2nd – 292), field goals made (2nd – 797), field goal percentage (5th – 54.2), free throws made (2nd – 416) and free throw percentage (9th – 77.5). Yori’s coaching career began immediately after her playing career concluded, serving as Creighton’s assistant coach from 1986-89.
“Creighton is my roots. I spent 17 years here and I’m so proud to be a Creighton alum and always have been. It was hard to leave here and I am happy to be back helping my alma mater,” said Yori. “This is a minor role in a really good program and it’ll be fun to rejoin the Creighton family.”
“Connie is a really good friend of mine and has been for 30 years. In many ways she helped pave my way into coaching and into this position, so it’s neat that she wants to come back to Creighton,” said Flanery. “I think Connie’s return will benefit our players, the rest of the staff as well as our department as a whole. It’s even more special for me, considering our personal relationship.”
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