NORMAL, Ill. - Stephanie Glance has been hired as the sixth head women's basketball coach in Illinois State history. Glance, who has 22 years of collegiate coaching experience, was introduced to the media and fans by Illinois State Director of Athletics Dr. Sheahon Zenger at a press conference in the Kaufman Football Building Tuesday afternoon.

Glance brings a tremendous pedigree into her first head coaching job, as the only coach to work with Hall of Fame women's basketball mentors Pat Summitt and the late Kay Yow.

"The hiring of Coach Glance once again shows that Illinois State University is able to attract the best and the brightest in the coaching profession," Zenger said. "Her coaching pedigree and coaching experience are second to none. Stephanie's career path resembles that of Tim Jankovich, Brock Spack, Mark Kingston and Robin Pingeton, and her personality and value system make her a tremendous fit for the Illinois State coaching team. It is with great pride that we are able to hire Stephanie Glance, the only coach in the nation to have worked with both Kay Yow and Pat Summitt."

With nearly a quarter century of coaching experience, Glance is a true student of the game and knows about the rich tradition of Illinois State women's basketball.

"I am thrilled to be a part of the Redbird Family! I have such great respect for the outstanding tradition of the women's basketball program," Glance said. "I look forward to continuing that success and reaching for even higher levels."

Glance worked with Summitt at Tennessee this past season. She was hired as an assistant to the head coach and was appointed to assistant coach in December. She also served as the Lady Vols' recruiting coordinator. Tennessee went 32-3 last season, won the SEC regular-season and tournament championships and advanced to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament. 
 

Prior to joining the Tennessee staff, Glance served 15 years as the associate head coach and recruiting coordinator at North Carolina State. She helped guide the Wolfpack to record of 285-178 and 11 NCAA Tournament appearances, reaching the Sweet 16 four times and the 1998 Final Four.

Glance developed a very close relationship while working with Yow, and served as the interim head coach during parts of the 2006-07 and 2008-09 seasons, while the coach battled breast cancer. Glance oversaw all aspects of the Wolfpack program, including player development, gameplan and practice planning, academic development, scheduling, community service and fundraising.

During her time at North Carolina State, Glance was instrumental in the development of 27 All-ACC selections, the 1995 and 1997 ACC Rookies of the Year and the 1999 ACC Player of the Year. Ten players Glance coached at N.C. State went on to play professionally, including eight that were drafted in either the WNBA or ABL.

As recruiting coordinator, Glance was responsible for all aspects of the N.C. State recruiting efforts. She put together 14 recruiting classes that ranked in the top-30 in the nation, including four in the top-10. She recruited three junior college All-Americans and one JUCO National Player of the Year.

Glance started her coaching career as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at South Florida from 1988-93 and served as an assistant coach at Southwest Texas State during the 1993-94 season.

Glance served on the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Board of Directors as the Elected Representative for all Division I Assistant Coaches from 2003-09. In that position, she was responsible for several events and meetings at the Women's Final Four National Convention. She also worked on the WBCA Recruiting and Access Committee in 2004, which revised and recommended new legislation and reform for women's basketball for the NCAA. In 2009, she was named the President of the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Foundation Board of Directors.

Glance played collegiately at Rollins College in Winter Park, Fla., earning a bachelor of arts degree in English and education in 1985.

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT STEPHANIE GLANCE:

Pat Summitt - Tennessee women's basketball head coach
"I am extremely excited for Stephanie Glance to be the next head coach at Illinois State. She is going to a university that truly embraces its basketball tradition. She was an excellent addition to our staff, as she was able to challenge and motivate our players every day.  Stephanie understands the time and energy commitment it takes to put a winning program on the fl oor. She is an outstanding teacher of the game, her attention to detail makes her an even better coach and she is a great recruiter. She will bring a winning attitude as well as generate interest in women's basketball. This is a terrifi c hire for Illinois State and I am very confi dent Stephanie will be very successful. She simply knows how to get the job done."

Sylvia Hatchell - North Carolina women's basketball head coach
"This is a great hire for Illinois State. All of those years at N.C. State with Kay and dealing with Kay's illness and death, Stephanie
has more experience and been through more than most head coaches do in 10 years. She went through everything at N.C. State
with honor, grace and style. She was really the primary caregiver for Kay and still maintained to keep that team together. She was a
renaissance woman. Not only is she a great coach, but also a great person. We already know she looks good in red, so it will be an
easy transition for her into Redbird red!"

Gail Goestenkors - Texas women's basketball head coach
"Stephanie is a perfect fi t for the Illinois State program. She has a tremendous work ethic and is a person of great class and integrity.
Her knowledge of and passion for the game is outstanding, and I have no doubt she will bring the Redbird program to even greater
heights."

Susan Yow - Bellmont Abbey College women's basketball head coach, sister of Kay Yow
"I know Kay would be ecstatic today for Stephanie. I'm sure she would have found a way to be in Normal, in the front row for the fi rst
press conference. Kay was good friends with Jill Hutchison and she would be thirlled that Stepahnie can continue the tradition that Jill
established. Kay and Jill were pioneers of women's basketball and there are a lot of similarities in the programs they were involved
with. Stephanie was right there with Kay at N.C. State and it is a great honor that she now has the opportunity to be a part of another
great program at Illinois State. This is a great day for Stephanie and Illinois State."

Nora Lynn Finch - ACC Associate Commissioner, former North Carolina State Associate Athletics Director
"Illinois State has hired one of the best coaches in America, in my opinion, in Stephanie Glance. As Coach Kay Yow's associate
head coach, Stephanie served as N.C. State's recruiting coordinator and Kay's right-hand strategy and teaching assistant until Kay's
fi ght with cancer became so serious that she could no longer perform the demanding rigors of daily head coaching responsibilities.
Stephanie kept the N.C. State program in tact and moving forward. For more than fi ve years, Stephanie supported Kay with her duties
as the head coach at N.C. State, and in her absence, Stephanie stepped in as the head coach without the team missing a beat.
Stephanie learned with a master, knows X's and O's very well and knows how to recruit. She recruited N.C. State's Final Four team
in 1998 and she successfully recruited when Kay was ill. Stephanie learned from Kay the importance of relationships with everyone,
including fans, media, faculty, recruits, parents and players. She has the whole skill set to be a successful head coach. She is going
to fi t at Illinois State like a hand in a glove. She loves people, she loves the warmth that Illinois State has shown her and she loves
the competitiveness of the Missouri Valley Conference. She knows the storied history of the women's basketball progam and is ready
to step in and continue the excellence that is there. She's going to love the people at Illinois State and they are going to love her -
guaranteed!"

Jill Hutchison - former Illinois State head women's basketball coach and WBCA President
"I couldn't be more excited that Stephanie Glance is the new head coach at Illinois State. She is an outstanding coach and recruiter
who will continue the success of the Illinois State program. She is a wonderful person who will relate well to the student-athletes,
univeristy community and Redbird fans. She is a relenetless worker, well-respected in the basketball community and a great hire for
Illinois State."

Tynesha Lewis - former North Carolina State player
"As one of Coach Glance's former players, I know Illinois State is getting one of the greatest people who has walked the Earth and one
of the greatest basketball minds in the game. She is a student of the game and expects the best both on-and-off the court from her
players. Illinois State is defi nitely getting a competitor. One thing I loved about coach Glance is that she had a great desire to win."