chattanooga MOCS

Jim Foster, a 2013 Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, concluded his 40^th year coaching women’s basketball with his 900^th career victory. He is seventh all-time among women’s coaches at all levels in the NCAA with a record of 903-347 (.722).
 
He is the second coach in NCAA history to lead three difference teams to 200 or more victories and is the only coach to take a team from four different schools to the NCAA Tournament and be ranked in the AP Top 25 poll.
 
His career included stops at St. Joseph’s (1979-1991), Vanderbilt (1992-2002), Ohio State (2003-2013) and Chattanooga (2014-2018). The Abington, Pa., native guided his teams to 32 postseason appearances including 30 trips to the NCAA Tournament. Over his career he led his teams to a combined six Sweet 16’s, four Elite Eights and in 1993 led the Commodores to the NCAA Final Four.
 
At Chattanooga, he led the Mocs to an overall record of 120-40 (.750) and 64-10 in Southern Conference action. UTC was undefeated in league play (32-0) over his first two seasons and had 20 or more wins over his first four years.
 
Foster led Chattanooga to four straight Southern Conference regular season and SoCon Tournament titles and advanced UTC to the postseason every year. He was named the Southern Conference Coach of the Year in 2014-15 and earned Tennessee Sports Writers Association Coach of the Year in each of his first two seasons. In his fourth year, Foster led Chattanooga to its fifth consecutive Southern Conference Tournament title, the first school in league history to accomplish the feat.
 
In his five years on the bench, the Mocs have had one SoCon Athlete of the Year, one SoCon Player of the Year, Four Defensive Players of the Year, 16 All-Conference performers, four All-Freshman team selections, four SoCon Tournament MVPs and 15 All-SoCon Tournament picks.
 
The Mocs earned a Top 25 ranking in both the AP Top 25 and the USA Today Coaches Top 25 in the 2014-15 season following wins over No. 4 Tennessee and No. 7 Stanford at the Roundhouse. UTC climbed as high as 17 in the AP Top 25 and 18 in the Coaches Poll.
 
Taylor Hall (2010-14) became the first player in Southern Conference history to be named the league Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and Tournament Most Outstanding Player all in the same season. She topped the 1,000 point and 800 rebound mark under Foster’s tutelage. She was selected the Southern Conference Female Athlete of the Year and was invited to the Seattle Storm Training Camp.
 
Jasmine Joyner (2013-17) earned back-to-back SoCon Defensive Player of the Year honors and was named the SoCon Tournament Most Outstanding Player in 2015 and 2017. She finished her career at Chattanooga as just the second player to top 1,000 points and 900 rebounds. She ranks eighth all-time in the NCAA with 436 career blocked shots and is the career and single season record holder for the SoCon in that category.
 
Alicia “Red” Payne became the first Chattanooga player to earn back-to-back SoCon Defensive Player of the Year honors (2015, 2016) and was named the SoCon Tournament Most Outstanding Player in 2016.
 
In his first season, the Mocs went 29-4 and was 18-0 in SoCon play. UTC posted three commanding victories to take home the SoCon tournament title. That was followed with another 29-4 season in his second year on the bench at Chattanooga. UTC was 14-0 in league play and had to take ETSU to overtime to claim his second straight SoCon Tournament crown.
 
Over the next two seasons, the Mocs tied Mercer for the regular season title and the two teams met in the league tournament final for a pair of thrilling Mocs’ victories. After the top-seeded Bears managed to take a one-point lead in the 2016 final, UTC closed out the game with a 12-3 run for an eight-point victory. In 2017, the No. 1 seeded Mocs mounted a fourth quarter comeback to claim their 18^th SoCon Tournament title with a two-point victory.
 
In his final season, Foster claimed his 900^th career victory with a 58-41 win on the road at Western Carolina. He became the eighth coach in NCAA women’s basketball history at all levels to earn 900 wins.
 
At Ohio State, Foster helped the Buckeyes qualify for a school-record 10 consecutive NCAA tournaments from 2003-12 and rank in the national Top 10 in five of his last the last eight seasons. A four-time Big Ten coach of the year (2005-07, '09), he led the Buckeyes to a record-setting six consecutive Big Ten regular season titles.  Foster's teams won four Big Ten tournaments and won at least 20 games in 10 of 11 seasons.
 
Foster mentored seven WNBA Draft picks and three All-Americans in Jantel Lavender (2009, '10, '11), Jessica Davenport (2005, '06, '07) and Samantha Prahalis (2012). In the process, the Buckeyes turned Value City Arena into one of the most intimidating venues for opposing teams with a remarkable 172-17 (.910) home record in 11 years.  This included three undefeated seasons and four others with just one loss.
 
At Vanderbilt, Foster compiled a 256-99 mark in 11 seasons (1991-2002) with an impressive .721 winning percentage.  That also included a 1993 Final Four appearance, four Elite Eight trips and three Sweet 16 finishes. During his tenure with the Commodores, 10 of his teams finished the season ranked in the Top 25.
 
Prior to Foster's arrival, Vanderbilt had yet to win more than half its conference games, but he quickly reversed that trend. Under his leadership, the Commodores captured three SEC postseason tournaments (1993, '95 and 2002) and made five trips (1993, '94, '95, 2001 and '02) to the SEC tournament championship game.
 
Prior to his Vanderbilt appointment, Foster spent 13 years at St. Joseph's (Pa.) University (1978-91).  There he recorded a 248-126 (.663) record and seven postseason appearances (six NCAA and one AIAW - Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women). During a span of six years (1985-90), the Hawks captured 1985, 1989 and 1990 first-place finishes in the Atlantic 10 Conference, six 20-win seasons and competed in the NCAA tournament every year. In 1985, Foster garnered NCAA coach of the year honors. His team was 25-5 that season, won the Atlantic 10 Conference title and made the NCAA tournament.
 
Points, steals and rebounds have little to do with Foster's most impressive record - the achievements of his players in the academic arena.  At Ohio State, Foster's 2002-03 team produced four OSU Scholar-Athletes and the number increased to six in 2003-04 and 2004-05. In each of his first two seasons, three Buckeyes were named to academic All-Big Ten squads. In 2004-05, that number increased to five league academic honorees and was counted off at four in 2005-06 and 2006-07.
 
Student-athletes under Foster's leadership have earned numerous academic honors. Among the accolades are GTE CoSIDA Academic All-America, district and honorable mention Academic All-America, the SEC's prestigious Bud McWhorter Award and Vanderbilt's Academic Athlete of the Year honors.
 
At Vanderbilt, Foster coached 54 SEC academic honor roll players. Notably in 1992, Vanderbilt set a conference record with nine players named to the SEC academic honor roll and in 1993 the entire starting lineup from the Final Four team was named to the conference honor roll. Foster also coached one academic All-American and two district All-Americans while at St. Joseph's.

In his first four years at Chattanooga, 15 Mocs earned the Southern Conference Commissioner's Medal for Academics, 40 have been named to the SoCon Academic Honor Roll. Eighty-three have been named to the Chattanooga Dean's List and 101 were named to UTC's Athletics Director's Honor Roll.

Foster has made his mark throughout the basketball community in roles other than coaching. He was selected to join the NCAA Women's Basketball Rules Committee in September of 2003 for a four-year appointment. He served as the chair of the selection committee for the U19 National Team beginning in 2014. He helped select the athletes and coaches for the teams.
 
In 1992, he became the first and only male to be elected president of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association, a group whose mission is to "promote women's basketball by unifying coaches at all levels to develop a reputable identity for the sport of women's basketball and to foster and promote the development of the game in all of its aspects as an amateur sport for women and girls."
 
Foster's contribution to the game of basketball can also be witnessed indirectly. More than 20 of Foster's former players are now coaches at every level of the game. Additionally, a number of his former assistants are now guiding their own programs, including Connecticut's Geno Auriemma, Notre Dame's Muffet McGraw, and St. Joseph's Cindy Griffin.
 
Besides basketball, Foster also has experience at the administration level. From Nov. 21, 1995 to Aug. 1, 1996 Foster was Vanderbilt's interim athletics director, during which time he oversaw 15 varsity sports and about 300 student-athletes. During his appointment, Vanderbilt went through the NCAA certification process and was ultimately granted certification in 1997.
 
Foster's influence and efforts reached beyond the Vanderbilt athletics department. In 1996, Foster was honored by the Vanderbilt Opportunity Development Center with an Affirmative Action award for his efforts to help diversify the Vanderbilt community and to elevate the lives of others in Nashville.
 
Foster has a long-standing relationship with USA Basketball, the national governing body in the United States. He earned a gold medal at the helm of the 2003 USA Basketball World He was also named the 2003 USA Basketball Developmental Coach of the Year as selected by the USA Basketball Executive Committee.
 
Prior to his appointment in the summer of 2003, Foster served as the head coach during the 1997 World University Games at Marsala, Sicily, Italy. The United States had not won gold in that particular event since 1991, but the Americans were undefeated (6-0) and averaged 93 points a game.
 
He also served as the head coach for both the USA Junior World Championship squad in 1993 and the Junior National Team in 1991. Foster was an assistant coach for gold-medal winning teams at the World Championship (1990), Goodwill Games (1990) and U.S. Olympic Festival (1987). He also was an assistant coach for the 1992 U.S. Olympic Team that captured the bronze medal in Barcelona, Spain.
 
Besides coaching contributions, Foster served on two selection committees for USA Basketball. From 1989-92, Foster was on the USA Basketball Games Committee, which selected players and staff for various teams, including the 1990 World Championship team, the 1992 Olympic team and staff and players for all collegiate-level teams. He also served on the USA Basketball Player Selection Committee from 1993-96.
 
Jim Foster Quick Facts:
Born: Oct. 16, 1948; Abington, Pa. Hometown: Cheltenham, Pa.
High School: Cardinal Dougherty (Philadelphia, Pa.)
Alma Mater: Temple, 1980
Married: To the former Donna Ries
Children: Two Sons - Christian, Andrew. Daughters-in-law, April and Erin, and grandsons, George and Oliver.
 
• 903 career wins – eighth coach to top the 900-win mark
• Seventh all-time in NCAA history for career wins (active and non-active)
• Fifth all-time among active coaches for career wins
• Four-time member of selection committee for USA Basketball 
• 39th fastest to 600 career wins (600-252) reached in 28th season on Feb. 20, 2006
• 16th fastest to 700 career wins (700-273) reached in 32nd season on Dec. 31, 2009 
• 11th fastest to 800 career wins (800-310) reached in 36th season on Jan. 25, 2014
• 8th fastest to 900 career wins (900-342) reached in 40th season on Feb. 1, 2018
• First coach in NCAA history to take four different teams to the NCAA Tournament
• 32 Postseason appearances in 40 years – 30 NCAA Tournaments
• One Final Four (Vanderbilt, 1993)
• Four Elite Eights (Vanderbilt, 1992, 1996, 2001, 2002)
• Six Sweet Sixteens (Vanderbilt, 1994, 1995, 1997 – Ohio State, 2005, 2009, 2011)
• First coach in NCAA history to have four different teams ranked in the AP Top 25 and Preseason AP Top 25
• One of only two collegiate coaches - men’s or women’s at any level – to record 200 wins at three different schools.
• Southern Conference Coach of the Year (2015)
• Tennessee Sports Writers Association (TSWA) Coach of the  Year (1991, 1992, 2014, 2015)
• Four-time Big Ten Coach of the Year (2005-07, 09)
• 1993 United States Basketball Writers Association Coach of the Year
• 1985 NCAA Coach of the Year honors (team was 25-5, won A10 title and made NCAA tournament)
• Three SEC Tournament titles (’93, ’95, ’02) – runner up (’94, ’01)
 
International Coaching Experience:
2003 Young Women's National Team - Head Coach, Gold Medal
1997 World University Games - Head Coach, Gold Medal
1993 Junior National Team - Head Coach
1992 Olympic Team - Assistant Coach, Bronze Medal
1991 Junior National Team - Head Coach
1990 World Championship Team - Assistant Coach, Gold Medal
1989 World Junior Championships - Assistant Coach
1987 Olympic Festival - Assistant Coach, Gold Medal Women's 
 

 
updated May 7, 2018