University of Utah Athletics Director Dr. Chris Hill announced a contract extension for women’s basketball head coach Lynne Roberts today.
“We really like the direction Lynne is taking us and the contract extension affirms our support for our women’s basketball program, which we think has a bright future under Lynne’s leadership,” Hill said. “We’re elated that Lynne wants to stay at Utah and compete for championships.”
The contract will extend through 2023 as the Redding, Calif., native heads into her fourth season with the Utes. Roberts holds an overall record of 52-44 during her time at Utah and has 273 career wins in her 16 seasons as a head coach.
“I am so thankful to be working at a great institution like Utah,” Roberts said. “I have been so inspired by the terrific administration here, led by President Ruth Watkins and the best athletic director in the country in Chris Hill. Starting from the top, the administration really puts coaches in a position to be successful. This Utah community is so fun to be a part of and I’m blessed to call Salt Lake City home.”
Under the direction of Roberts, the Utes have advanced to post-season play for three-straight seasons and has achieved two 18-win seasons.
The Utes have had seven All-Pac-12 selections since 2015-16 and 16 Pac-12 All-Academic honorees, including first-team all-conference honorees Megan Huff and Emily Potter.
Roberts’s goal coming into Utah was to take the program to new heights and the country is taking notice. For three straight seasons under Roberts, the Utes have received votes in both the AP and WBCA/USA Today Coaches Polls after knocking off at least one top-25 ranked team each year.
“I believe in this place, I believe in what we are doing here, and the direction the program is headed,” Roberts said. “I have an amazing staff that works so hard and deserves an incredible amount of credit for that positive direction. I am excited about this contract extension because we still have work to do. As proud as I am of what we’ve achieved in these three years, my expectation is to use this extension to work even harder to take the Utah women’s basketball program to new heights – in the Pac-12 and on the national scale.”
Since the 2015-16 season, the Utes have had three student-athletes join the 1,000-point club. The Utes have also broken three school records and have had multiple student-athletes jump into the Utah single-season and career record books since Roberts took over.
The Utes are coming off another 18-win season in 2017-18, advancing to the WNIT for the third straight year, finishing the season ranked in the top-half of the Pac-12 in 15 different statistical categories.
Roberts will enter her 17th season as a head coach in 2018-19 after spending nine seasons at Pacific and four years at Chico State. In her time as a head coach, she has helped 32 total athletes to all-conference selections.
While at Pacific, she was a two-time conference coach of the year and led the Tigers to postseason appearances in each of her last four seasons. She rebuilt a program that had won just 11 games combined in the two seasons before she took over and ended her career there with 25 All-Big West selections.
In her first stint as a head coach, Roberts took over the program at Chico State where she compiled an 86-31 overall record, earning WBCA West Region Coach of the Year in 2004-05 after leading the Wildcats to the NCAA Division II Final Four.
Roberts began her coaching career as an assistant at her alma mater, Seattle Pacific University from 1997-2001. She graduated from Seattle Pacific University in 1997.
Photo Courtesy Utah Athletics
http://utahutes.com/news/2018/5/7/womens-basketball-roberts-receives-contract-extension.aspx
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