Yale Bulletin and Calendar

March 8-22, 1999

Volume 27, Number 24

Yale's 'winningest' women's basketball
coach stepping down

Cecelia DeMarco, the winningest coach in Yale women's basketball history with 107 wins in nine seasons, announced her retirement from coaching on March 1 by telling her players at a team meeting.

"I have mixed emotions," said DeMarco, who has a 243-213 overall collegiate record in 18 seasons. "I have had the privilege of coaching young people for over 20 years. I would like to thank all my former players."

At Yale, DeMarco has coached many Bulldog players to individual milestones. Six players have reached the 1,000-point mark; one broke the all-time scoring mark; another broke the Yale and Ivy League all-time assists mark; two earned Ivy League Rookie of the Year honors; and numerous others captured All-Ivy honors.

"I have had the opportunity to lead the women's basketball program at Yale for the past nine years, and it has been a remarkable experience," DeMarco said. "I have worked for what I consider the finest professional athletic administration in sports and alongside the hardest-working coaches in college athletics. I will miss my colleagues and friends. I cannot thank them enough."

Yale finished in the top half of the Ivy League four times under DeMarco. In 1992-93, the Elis broke into the upper tier of the Ivy League, finishing third with an overall mark of 15-11 and an Ivy record of 8-6. In 1993-94, the team went 16-10 overall, winning more games than any Yale women's basketball team since 1979-80. This season, the Bulldogs finished 10-16, 5-9 in Ivy play.

Athletic Director Tom Beckett said, "Ce DeMarco's contributions to the Yale community and Yale basketball have been many and quite significant. She is an outstanding professional, and she will be missed by this community."

DeMarco came to Yale from Bridgewater (Mass.) State College, where she served as director of athletics. A 1973 graduate of Bridgewater State with a bachelor's degree in health and physical education, DeMarco was a four-year starter for the Lady Bears and led her team to three state championships. In October of 1998, she was inducted into the Bridgewater State College Athletic Hall of Fame.

From 1973 to 1976, DeMarco served as the head coach at Bishop Fenwick (Mass.) High School, where her teams registered a 54-4 record, including three conference titles. DeMarco earned her master's degree in sports psychology from Washington State University in 1977, while serving as an assistant coach for the Cougar program.

DeMarco then took over the reins of the program at the University of New Hampshire, where she compiled a nine-year record of 136-86. Her teams won 20 games three times and captured the ECAC Regional Championships in 1983 and 1984. She was named the Converse District I Coach of the Year in 1983 after leading the Wildcats to a 24-7 record. In 1997, DeMarco was inducted into the prestigious UNH Wildcat Winner Circle Hall of Honor.

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A Conversation With a Master of the Web
'From Bojangles to Broadway' exhibit celebrates black musical entertainers
Director will bring his 'unique insights' to 'The Glass Menagerie'
Campus conferences will examine issues related to AIDS
Yale's 'winningest' women's basketball coach stepping down
Yale is first site in state to offer new test for cervical cancer risk
Barbara J. Bachmann, microbiologist and longtime Yale affiliate, died Jan. 31
Campus Notes