Wisconsin News and Sports
After being passed over for the head coaching job at UW-Green Bay, assistant coach Dave Divilbiss is leaving the school to join Matt Bollant’s coaching staff at Illinois.
Bollant left to take the Illinois job after five seasons in Green Bay. He’s now re-united with Divilbiss, who helped Green Bay post a 122-13 record during his four seasons as Bollant’s assistant.
Divilbiss is a native of Dundee, Illinois.
Kevin Borseth says he just wasn’t happy at the University of Michigan, which is
Kevin Borseth
why he resigned as head coach of the women’s basketball team to return to UW-Green Bay.
AUDIO: Kevin Borseth wasn’t happy in Ann Arbor :18
Borseth coached the Green Bay Phoenix for nine seasons, from 1998 through 2007 before he left for Michigan. At the time, Borseth called the Michigan job his dream job. Now, he’s leaving that dream job to return to Green Bay. Borseth said he’s glad he kicked the tires in Ann Arbor and he has no regrets.
AUDIO: Borseth said he has no regrets leaving Green Bay 5 years ago :15
Some think Borseth is crazy, leaving a job at a bigger school and a salary twice as big.
AUDIO: What does Borseth tell those that think he’s taking a step back :19
Borseth replaces Matt Bollant who left to take the head coaching job at Illinois. He was officially introduced as Green Bay’s new coach at a press conference on Thursday afternoon.
Kevin Borseth resigned his head coaching position at the University of Michigan to return to Green Bay to coach the UW-Green Bay Phoenix women’s team. Borseth replaces Matt Bollant who left to take the head job at Illinois.
It’s a surprising return for Borseth, who spent five seasons at Michigan after initially leaving Green Bay. Borseth had the Wolverines in the NCAA tournament this season, yet decided to return to Green Bay.
Borseth previously coached the Phoenix from 1998-2007, leading them to the postseason in all nine seasons, including seven trips to the NCAA Tournament. Borseth’s record in Green Bay is 216-62.
Borseth will officially be introduced at a news conference (2:30pm) this afternoon in Green Bay.
The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay will name its former women’s head coach, Kevin Borseth as the new women’s basketball
Kevin Borseth
coach at a Thursday news conference.
Borseth compiled a 216-62 record in nine seasons previously serving in the same capacity at Green Bay. Under Borseth’s watch from 1998-2007, Green Bay advanced to the postseason in all nine seasons, including seven trips to the NCAA Tournament. The Phoenix also won the regular season conference championship in each of his nine seasons at the helm, beginning a stretch that currently stands at 14.
Borseth has spent the past five seasons as the head coach at the University of Michigan, where he compiled an overall record of 87-73. In five seasons with the Wolverines, Borseth led the Wolverines to three postseason appearances, including this past season’s trip to the NCAA Tournament, the program’s first since 2000-01.
Borseth takes over for Matt Bollant, who left Green Bay after this past season to take the head coaching job at the University of Illinois.
The Green Bay Phoenix women’s basketball team fell behind 21-6 and lost to
Matt Bollant
2nd seeded Kentucky 65-62 in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
Keyla Snowden hit a jumper and two free throws in the final 18 seconds to close out the win for the second seeded Wildcats.
Samarie Walker had 15 points and 13 rebounds and Snowden added 13 points for the Wildcats (27-6), who will face Gonzaga in the regional semifinals in Kingston, Rhode Island.
After falling behind early, Green Bay rallied, erasing a 17-point deficit to take a 62-61 lead before Kentucky pulled out the win. The Phoenix forced 34 turnovers, 20 of them in the second half.
Julie Wojta and Sarah Eichler each scored 16 points for Green Bay (31-2).
The Green Bay Phoenix are making their 4th straight trip to the Women’s NCAA Tournament, but the women’s selection didn’t do them
Selection Monday / Photo courtesy of GreenBayPhoenix.com
any favors.
The 10th ranked Phoenix (30-1) will return to the site of its tournament run from two seasons ago and will play at Iowa State (18-12) in Ames, Iowa. But they do so as the seventh seed in the Des Moines Region while the Cyclones are seeded 10th. Green Bay mad a trip to the Sweet 16 a year ago before falling to top-seeded Baylor 86-76 in Dallas. Green Bay was a 5-seed last season and finished 34-2.
This season, Green Bay has been ranked in the top 10 for much of the latter half of the season. But that apparently wasn’t enough to get the Phoenix a home game, or a game on a neutral floor.
AUDIO: Green Bay coach Matt Bollant isn’t a fan of the 7-seed :18
Green Bay is led by senior forward Julie Wojta, who is an All-American candidate and the Horizon League Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. Wojta is averaging 19.7 points and 9.3 rebounds per game and is coming off a 29-point performance in a 66-53 win over Detroit in the Horizon League tournament title game.
In 2010, Green Bay received the first at-large bid in program history and played in Ames as a No. 12 seed. The Phoenix defeated fifth-seeded Virginia 69-67 in the first round before falling to 4th seeded Iowa State 60-56 in the second round.
AUDIO: Julie Wojta on having to play Iowa State on their home floor :15