Phyllis Holmes
Encyclopedia
Phyllis Holmes was a longtime basketball coach for Greenville College
in Greenville, Illinois
. She also served as an assistant women's Olympic
coach for USA Basketball.
She was inducted into the National Women's Basketball Hall of Fame
in 2001 for her years spent as a player, coach, administrator, and official of women's basketball.http://www.greenville.edu/backup/publications/record/spring01/alumninews.shtml She was the first woman ever elected President of the National Association for Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA
) basketball association.http://www.i55i57clinic.com/stoecklin.html
in 1961. She played basketball there as an undergrad for the Lady Panthers. She holds the single season scoring average record for Greenville with 20 points scored per game in the 1959-60 season.
Before eventually returning to her alma mater to coach, Holmes coached the women's basketball
team at Biola University
from 1964 to 1967.http://www.biola.edu/eaglesports/wbasketball/record_book/wbasketbal_coaching_records.cfm
At Greenville College, Holmes gained much respect for her coaching ability, eventually coaching for over 25 years before becoming athletic director at GC while also serving as NAIA president. In coaching over 500 games, she won more than 300.
in Moscow
in 1978, earning a bronze medal.http://www.usabasketball.com/history/wusof_coaches.html
Holmes served as assistant coach for the women's USA Basketball team prior to the 1980 Olympics. To evaluate prospective players for the 1980 Games, Holmes and head coach Carole Baumgarten of Drake University
took part in the 1979 Spartakiade in the Soviet Union. Held every four years since the '50s, Spartakiade was seen as a preview to the Olympic Games each year. That year's team included Ann Meyers
and Lynette Woodward.http://www.usabasketball.com/history/wspartakiade_1979.html
In international competition, Holmes also served as the manager for the 1981 Women's World University Gameshttp://www.usabasketball.com/history/wwug_coaches.html held in Bucharest, Romania under head coach Kay Yow
of North Carolina State University
. The US women earned the silver medal behind the Soviets.http://www.usabasketball.com/history/wwug_1981.html
She served as manager for the 1983 US women's team for the world championships in Sao Paulo, Brazil, serving under head coach Pat Summitt
of the University of Tennessee
.http://www.usabasketball.com/history/wwc_coaches.html The 9th Women's World Championship was held July 4 to August 6, 1983 in São Paulo. The women's team that year came within one basket of defeating the Soviet Union and retaining their seventh world championship in a row. The team finished 6-2 and brought home a silver medal. The game between the Soviets and Americans was the first time the teams had met head-to-head in international competition since the 1976 Olympics
. Among the legendary players on the US team was Cheryl Miller and Lynette Woodward.http://www.usabasketball.com/history/wwc_1983.html
In addition to serving as manager for the world championships that year, Holmes went as manager for the USA Women's Pan Am Games, held August 14-27, 1983. The head coach for the Pan Am Games was Fran Garmon of Texas Christian University
, and they were held in Caracas, Venezuela.http://www.usabasketball.com/history/wpag_coaches.html With Garmon at the top and Kay Yow as assistant coach, Holmes remained along with the rest of the players from the World Championships a few weeks earlier. This time, the US came out on top against Cuba
.http://www.usabasketball.com/history/wpag_1983.html
In her time as President, Holmes coordinated the first NAIA women's basketball championship and began to plan a national tournament that would expand from eight to 32 competing teams. She also helped to create the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame
that would eventually induct her.http://www.wbca.org/cwb/02octwbhofgill.asp
Holmes left after one year as NAIA President to serve as the new Hall of Fame's first Executive Director.
1996 world championship
Beginning in 1992, the NAIA
annually awards the Phyllis Holmes Coach of the Year Award in NAIA Division II women's basketball.http://graphics.fansonly.com/photos/schools/naia/sports/w-baskbl-div2/auto_pdf/DII_WBB_Champ_History.pdf
In 1990, Holmes was inducted into the Greenville College Hall of Fame for coaching. In 1998, her 1979-1980 basketball team was inducted into Greenville's Hall of Fame.http://www.greenville.edu/athletics/halloffame/
Greenville College
Greenville College is located in Greenville, Illinois, a small Illinois city, located 45 miles east of St. Louis, Missouri on Interstate 70...
in Greenville, Illinois
Greenville, Illinois
Greenville is a city in Bond County, Illinois, United States, east of St. Louis. The estimated population as of July 2009 is 7,284. The population was 6,955 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Bond County....
. She also served as an assistant women's Olympic
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
coach for USA Basketball.
She was inducted into the National Women's Basketball Hall of Fame
Women's Basketball Hall of Fame
The Women's Basketball Hall of Fame honors men and women who have contributed to the sport of women's basketball. The Hall of Fame opened in 1999 in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA...
in 2001 for her years spent as a player, coach, administrator, and official of women's basketball.http://www.greenville.edu/backup/publications/record/spring01/alumninews.shtml She was the first woman ever elected President of the National Association for Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA
National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics is an athletic association that organizes college and university-level athletic programs. Membership in the NAIA consists of smaller colleges and universities across the United States. The NAIA allows colleges and universities outside the USA...
) basketball association.http://www.i55i57clinic.com/stoecklin.html
Early career
Holmes graduated from Greenville CollegeGreenville College
Greenville College is located in Greenville, Illinois, a small Illinois city, located 45 miles east of St. Louis, Missouri on Interstate 70...
in 1961. She played basketball there as an undergrad for the Lady Panthers. She holds the single season scoring average record for Greenville with 20 points scored per game in the 1959-60 season.
Before eventually returning to her alma mater to coach, Holmes coached the women's basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
team at Biola University
Biola University
Biola University is a private, evangelical Christian, liberal arts university located near Los Angeles. Biola's main campus is in La Mirada in Los Angeles County, California. In addition, the university has several satellite campuses in Chino Hills, Inglewood, San Diego, and Laguna Hills.-...
from 1964 to 1967.http://www.biola.edu/eaglesports/wbasketball/record_book/wbasketbal_coaching_records.cfm
At Greenville College, Holmes gained much respect for her coaching ability, eventually coaching for over 25 years before becoming athletic director at GC while also serving as NAIA president. In coaching over 500 games, she won more than 300.
International Basketball
Holmes accepted many positions in international women's basketball, beginning with the position of assistant coach at the Olympic FestivalOlympic Festival
The Olympic Festival can refer to:*Olympic Games, or various events held around them*Australian Youth Olympic Festival, a biannual multi-sport event*European Youth Olympic Festival, a biannual multi-sport event...
in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
in 1978, earning a bronze medal.http://www.usabasketball.com/history/wusof_coaches.html
Holmes served as assistant coach for the women's USA Basketball team prior to the 1980 Olympics. To evaluate prospective players for the 1980 Games, Holmes and head coach Carole Baumgarten of Drake University
Drake University
Drake University is a private, co-educational university located in Des Moines, Iowa, USA. The institution offers a number of undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as professional programs in law and pharmacy. Today, Drake is one of the twenty-five oldest law schools in the country....
took part in the 1979 Spartakiade in the Soviet Union. Held every four years since the '50s, Spartakiade was seen as a preview to the Olympic Games each year. That year's team included Ann Meyers
Ann Meyers
Ann Meyers Drysdale is a retired American basketball player and sportscaster. She was a standout player in high school, college, the Olympic Games, international tournaments, and the professional levels.Meyers was the first player to be part of the U.S. national team while still in high school...
and Lynette Woodward.http://www.usabasketball.com/history/wspartakiade_1979.html
In international competition, Holmes also served as the manager for the 1981 Women's World University Gameshttp://www.usabasketball.com/history/wwug_coaches.html held in Bucharest, Romania under head coach Kay Yow
Kay Yow
Sandra Kay Yow was an American basketball coach. She was the head coach of the NC State Wolfpack women's basketball team from 1975 to 2009. A member of the Naismith Hall of Fame, she had more than 700 career wins. She also coached the U.S...
of North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University at Raleigh is a public, coeducational, extensive research university located in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Commonly known as NC State, the university is part of the University of North Carolina system and is a land, sea, and space grant institution...
. The US women earned the silver medal behind the Soviets.http://www.usabasketball.com/history/wwug_1981.html
She served as manager for the 1983 US women's team for the world championships in Sao Paulo, Brazil, serving under head coach Pat Summitt
Pat Summitt
Patricia "Pat" Head Summitt is an American women's college basketball coach. She is currently the head coach of the Tennessee Lady Vols basketball team. She is the all-time winningest coach in NCAA basketball history of either a men's or women's team in any division...
of the University of Tennessee
University of Tennessee
The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...
.http://www.usabasketball.com/history/wwc_coaches.html The 9th Women's World Championship was held July 4 to August 6, 1983 in São Paulo. The women's team that year came within one basket of defeating the Soviet Union and retaining their seventh world championship in a row. The team finished 6-2 and brought home a silver medal. The game between the Soviets and Americans was the first time the teams had met head-to-head in international competition since the 1976 Olympics
1976 Summer Olympics
The 1976 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in 1976. Montreal was awarded the rights to the 1976 Games on May 12, 1970, at the 69th IOC Session in Amsterdam, over the bids of Moscow and...
. Among the legendary players on the US team was Cheryl Miller and Lynette Woodward.http://www.usabasketball.com/history/wwc_1983.html
In addition to serving as manager for the world championships that year, Holmes went as manager for the USA Women's Pan Am Games, held August 14-27, 1983. The head coach for the Pan Am Games was Fran Garmon of Texas Christian University
Texas Christian University
Texas Christian University is a private, coeducational university located in Fort Worth, Texas, United States and founded in 1873. TCU is affiliated with, but not governed by, the Disciples of Christ...
, and they were held in Caracas, Venezuela.http://www.usabasketball.com/history/wpag_coaches.html With Garmon at the top and Kay Yow as assistant coach, Holmes remained along with the rest of the players from the World Championships a few weeks earlier. This time, the US came out on top against Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
.http://www.usabasketball.com/history/wpag_1983.html
NAIA Presidency
In 1989, in a milestone for women in sports, Holmes was the first woman elected as president of the NAIA.http://www.northnet.org/stlawrenceaauw/timelne5.htm In addition to being the first woman to hold that particular position, her election marked the first time a woman had governed a national body of men’s and women’s intercollegiate athletics.In her time as President, Holmes coordinated the first NAIA women's basketball championship and began to plan a national tournament that would expand from eight to 32 competing teams. She also helped to create the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame
Women's Basketball Hall of Fame
The Women's Basketball Hall of Fame honors men and women who have contributed to the sport of women's basketball. The Hall of Fame opened in 1999 in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA...
that would eventually induct her.http://www.wbca.org/cwb/02octwbhofgill.asp
Holmes left after one year as NAIA President to serve as the new Hall of Fame's first Executive Director.
1996 world championship
Honors
Holmes was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame June 8-9, 2000 for her achievements at GC and on the international basketball stage.Beginning in 1992, the NAIA
National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics is an athletic association that organizes college and university-level athletic programs. Membership in the NAIA consists of smaller colleges and universities across the United States. The NAIA allows colleges and universities outside the USA...
annually awards the Phyllis Holmes Coach of the Year Award in NAIA Division II women's basketball.http://graphics.fansonly.com/photos/schools/naia/sports/w-baskbl-div2/auto_pdf/DII_WBB_Champ_History.pdf
In 1990, Holmes was inducted into the Greenville College Hall of Fame for coaching. In 1998, her 1979-1980 basketball team was inducted into Greenville's Hall of Fame.http://www.greenville.edu/athletics/halloffame/