Otterbein University has promoted assistant Diana (Esterkamp) Noles to the position of head women’s basketball coach, announced Wednesday afternoon by Dawn Stewart, director of athletics.
Noles, 37, spent the past seven years as lead assistant before now taking over in place of long-time head coach Connie Richardson, who recently announced her retirement following 28 years at the helm. She guided the program to 382 wins since 1991.
“Diana has earned this opportunity and we are excited for her leadership of the women’s basketball program,” Stewart said. “Diana is an incredible competitor and wonderful mentor. She values the Division III experience and personally invests in her student-athletes. As a player and a coach, she knows what it takes to win and how to get results.”
A 2004 Otterbein graduate, Noles delivered a stellar four-year playing career for the Cardinals before first serving as a volunteer coach during the 2005-06 season. She then spent two years on staff at Ohio Dominican from 2006-08.
“I want to first thank Dawn and Connie for this opportunity to give back,” Noles said with excitement. “Otterbein gave me so much and, specifically, the basketball program gave me so much. Those four years were amazing and I just hope that I can keep giving back to create those experience for new waves of players.”
“Diana is already a great coach… probably a better one than me,” Richardson added with a smile and laugh. “Her taking over has always been my dream because I see the internal drive and the way she builds relationships. I’m excited to have an up-close look at her in action and will be ready to help in any way.”
Inducted into the Otterbein Athletics Hall of Fame in 2014, Noles is the only player in women’s basketball history with at least 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 500 assists for a career. A surgical floor general at point guard, she led Otterbein to a 72-33 record throughout her stretch and earned All-American status as a senior. The Cards went 23-5 that season and made the program’s first-ever Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) championship game.
Noles, who still holds a pair of school records for career assists (674) and three-point percentage in a single-season (.486), is the only female basketball player in school history to record a triple-double. A 3x All-OAC performer, she ranked top-five nationally in assists per game from her sophomore year on and also led the league in assist-to-turnover ratio (+3.0) just prior to graduation.
“This is a bittersweet moment taking over for Connie,” Noles admitted. “She has done so much for not only this program, but for me personally and my family. It’s hard to see her step away after almost three decades, but I hope I can make her proud and continue building on the way she takes care of people within this program. She’s a great person and even better friend.”
Noles took a break from basketball for three years (2008-11) to start a family until returning to her alma mater in the summer of 2012 as full-time assistant coach. During her first season, the Cardinals won 20 games and made it to the NCAA Tournament for the first, and only, time.
“I am ready to hit the ground running,” Noles continued. “Connie gave me a lot of freedom as an assistant and allowed me to feel very involved. She mentored me for this moment and I actually anticipate more of a change on my end than for our players. But it will be an exciting new chapter.”
Most recently, Noles has helped Otterbein play to records of 17-10 and 16-11 over the past two seasons while advising multiple All-OAC performers. Included in the bunch was standout All-American Dani Kissel, who graduated as the program’s second all-time leading scorer.
“My hope is that people watch our team and say that we are for real,” Noles added in conclusion. “We will be competing for an OAC championship but, regardless of the score or result, I want fans leaving the gym knowing we do things the right way. We will be good players but also good people.”
Noles is married to 2001 Otterbein graduate Pat Noles, who still shares the men’s basketball single-game record with eight three-pointers made. The couple has three children; son P.J., along with daughters Charlee and Jayla, and resides in Galena.
