Seattle hires Joan Bonvicini as basketball coach

Joan Bonvicini was introducing herself to the men's basketball coach and busily running through the credentials of her impressive resume when Cameron Dollar interrupted.

"I said, 'coach, you know I was in the Pac-10. I have seen your teams play once or twice,'" recalled Dollar, the men's coach at Seattle University. "Her record speaks for itself."

Bonvicini, one of the most successful women's coaches in Division I history, is returning to the sidelines after being introduced as the new coach at Seattle on Tuesday. She'll take over a program about to enter the second year of a five-year reclassification process that will bring the Redhawks back to full Division I status for the first time since 1980.

Bonvicini has been out of coaching since March 2008 when she was fired after 17 years at Arizona, but she'll bring 612 wins and 29 years of head coaching experience to the small Jesuit school in downtown Seattle.

"I really thought I would be coaching a year ago and I didn't," Bonvicini said. So I'm not one to be bitter or anything, I just picked myself up and networked and talked to as many people and I'm just thrilled to be coaching here and honored."

Bonvicini is one of only 18 coaches with more than 600 Division I victories, and she led her teams to 17 NCAA tournament appearances and a pair of Final Fours. But she'll be taking over a school that doesn't have a conference affiliation and won't be eligible for the NCAA tournament until the 2012-13 season. Before spending nearly two decades in Tucson, Bonvicini was coach at Long Beach State, leading the 49ers to consecutive Final Four trips in 1987 and 1988.

She'll also bring instant name recognition to the Redhawks program, similar to Dollar's hiring in April.

When Seattle athletic director Bill Hogan dismissed former coach Dan Kriley on July 1 - despite the Redhawks' 20-9 record last season - he immediately started doing homework on Bonvicini. Hogan was concerned a sitting head coach at a mid-major school wouldn't be willing to make a switch during the summer and wanted someone with experience to help guide Seattle through the rocky years of reclassification.

"We kind of focused on a few folks who had that national reputation," Hogan said. "Joan, she's a special woman in her sport. The fact that she was so interested in coming to Seattle ... she's committed to building a program but wants to do it in this city."