When Coach Conradt was asked why small-town coaches matter, she responded, “Because, more than anything a young person can do, sport teaches life skills. It teaches you how to win and how to lose, how to interact with teammates, and how to carry yourself with class – win or lose. It teaches you the value of commitment, the importance of intensity, and the value of seeing things all the way through.”  

When Coach Conradt was asked about the major change she has witnessed during her coaching career in Texas, she says, “Things that have changed, counting around the room, there are 11 media representatives here. If I could think back to when I first came here, if there were this many people in the stands, it meant someone’s family was in town.”

Conradt says, “They built Erwin Center “ 21 years ago, and obviously, it never occurred to anyone that the women would need a separate locker room. So, every room in this place had urinals.

“Now we have one of our own. Before one of our games, Coach Royal was kind enough to speak to my team. Before he left, someone asked what the biggest difference was between our locker room and all the other ones he knew from all his years of coaching.” Coach Royal said, “Offhand, I can’t remember anyone ironing anything before a game in one of our locker rooms.”

TLSN is a non-profit organization that provides temporary financial assistance to qualified former Longhorns who have fallen through society’s safety net. Its six board members work voluntarily to fulfill TLSN’s mission.

Dave Cody introduces Coach Jody Conradt’s oral History podcast.

Introduction of Jody Conradt’s oral history podcast by Dave Cody (Heat up the Grill)

• I will share a funny story; we had Jody mic’d for a game at the drum in the 80s “s I think? Whataburger used to give free burgers when UT scored 100 points. Late in the game, Jody leaned over to her assistant coach Colleen Matsuhara  And said ” heat up the grill”

• A two-point loss in the NCAA women’s basketball  Tournament that denied UT an appearance in its own Regional would have been deflating for most, but when I turned on my Hyatt Regency  TV during my job interview at KTBC-TV in late March 1985, I saw a well-spoken, well-coiffed woman putting a positive spin on the outcome and as tough as that was,  it left me with a great first impression of Texas Womens Basketball.  I had worked as a TV sportscaster in Memphis, where basketball meant something, and I knew Austin was the place for me. It would be the beginning of a 35-year friendship with the woman most simply called “Jody “

• 34 and 0. KTBC-TV cameraman Jaime Ortiz and I accompanied the team to the women’s final 4 in Lexington, KY, taking a day trip to meet the great “Secretariat” at nearby Claiborne Farm, so the week was already a win. Then came the Women’s Coaches Convention “Derby Party” with hot tubs under the big tents. Jody and the UT coaches did not take part in the championship game vs. Cheryl Miller, and USC was the next day. UT won with UT freshman Clarissa Davis breaking out a stellar UT career. The Lady Longhorns, their politically correct brand in 1986, returned to a raucous reception at the Drum, their home arena.

• The Pass. It may have been a midweek game or a showcased tournament game; I don’t recall. But starting point guard Kamie Etheridge made a wraparound pass to a fast-breaking Clarissa Davis on the wing, and ” Clo” took it to the hole for the basket.

• Jody made sure to interact with UT fans, renaming her post-game meetings for coaches and players with fans in the Burnt Orange Room,” the Fast break ” room.

• Jody used to wear a long green coat during games at Baylor, her alma mater. When asked about it she said ” HOT Coliseum is an old Rodeo barn; it’s cold”

• She allowed us to ride the team charter bus to TCU one year; I can still see that bus going up i-35 to the sound of Aretha’s Freeway of Love I used in the piece

Sherryl Hauglum, a TLSN Board Member and one of Jody Conradt’s basketball leaders in the early 1980s, has special memories of playing for Coach.

Sherryl says:

“ I had the privilege of playing basketball under the legendary Coach Conradt. Those days at The Erwin Center were filled with countless memories of camaraderie and spirited competition. The rhythmic squeak of sneakers on the polished gym floor became the soundtrack to our afternoons. Coach Conradt was the ultimate role model, and she set high expectations for us.”

However, Coach Conradt “also led by example through her daily actions and commitment to winning. The victories were great, but it was the shared laughter during practices, study halls, and trips that I remember most fondly. Those were my formative years, defined by the love of the game and the mentorship of a coaching legend. ????”

As head Coach, Conradt was a compass that always pointed true North for the players. She took pride in teaching athletes a lifetime of discipline, how to set goals, and the importance of planning for success as lifelong team players.

She was a member of the Holy Grail of coaches who taught athletes that life is best traveled with a teammate mentality, a work ethic, and self-reliance as the goal.

Coach Conradt understood that in sports, the game is just a fleeting moment in time, but in the game of life, that moment results in memories lasting a lifetime.

Head Coach Conradt’s Longhorn basketball journey is documented in three TLSN formats – oral history, photos, and a short synopsis of each season. Her story includes bitter defeats and exhilarating victories.

When Coach Conradt was asked why small-town coaches matter, she responded, “Because, more than anything a young person can do, sport teaches life skills. It teaches you how to win and how to lose, how to interact with teammates, and how to carry yourself with class – win or lose. It teaches you the value of commitment, the importance of intensity, and the value of seeing things all the way through.”  

When Coach Conradt was asked about the major change she has witnessed during her coaching career in Texas, she said, “Things that have changed, counting around the room, there are 11 media representatives here. If I could think back to when I first came here, if there were this many people in the stands, it meant someone’s family was in town.”

Before Title IX, women sports and the AIAW and NCAA women’s sports at Texas were building a strong foundation at the inter-mural and intra-mural level. I hope With Time This Site Can Add Some Historical Insight And Tell The Full And Compelling Story Of The Longhorn basketball tradition. 

Much of the research for the history of Longhorn women’s basketball was captured by Miriam Richards in 2012 as part of her Capstone project. The link to her site is in the credit section of the TLSN  website.

Full varsity intercollegiate competition in women’s basketball began in 1974 with Head Coach Rodney Page.  As of 2015, The Longhorns rank fifth in total victories and seventh in all-time win percentage among all NCAA Division I women’s college basketball programs, with an all-time win-loss record 1012–372 (.731). The Longhorns have won 22 total conference championships and 28 total appearances in the NCAA Tournament with 1 National Championship, 3 trips to the Final Four, and  9 times to the Elite 8.

As of March 28, 2016, Texas ranks fourteenth in all-time NCAA Tournament victories.

Coach Jody Conradt – 1976-2007

When asked why small town coaches matter, she responded “Because, more than anything a young person can do, sport teaches life skills. It teaches you how to win and how to lose, how to interact with teammates, and how to carry yourself with class – win or lose. It teaches you the value of commitment, the importance of intensity, and the value of seeing things all the way through.”

When Coach Conradt is asked the major change she has witnessed during her coaching career in Texas, she says, “things that have changed, counting around the room, there are 11 media representatives here. If I could think back to when I first came here, if there were this many people in the stands, it meant someone’s family was in town.”

• 783-245 won-loss record

• 5- Elite 8 appearances

• 3- Sweet 16 appearances

• 1- National Championship

• 2- Final 4 appearances

• Ranked #1 in polls for 4 years

• Appeared in NCAA tournament 21 of 25 years (NCAA tournament did not begin until the 1982-1983 season

• Ranked in the top 10 for 11 out of 12 years from 1979-1990

• 1998- enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame

• First college women’s basketball coach to reach 700 career victories

• National Coach of the Year 1980, 1984, 1986, 1997, 2003, 2004

• Total career record 900-309 for a .744 w/l record

• http://www.hoophall.com/hall-of-famers/tag/jody-conradt

1976-1977  36-10 record – made the AIAW Region 4 tournament

In their 11th intercollegiate season, the Longhorns’ season opener against Temple Junior College was the first event to occur in the newly constructed Special Events Center (now the Frank Erwin Center). The Longhorns defeated Temple, 67-64. Temple guard Evwella Munn, who later transferred to UT, scored the building’s very first basket. After the game, senior Retha Swindell said, “We were talking before the game about how we wanted to be the first team to score there. We didn’t want Temple to score first. So what happens? They go out and score first.”

Top Song 1977 Staying Alive

Cathy Burns, as of 2002, had the most FG’s- 361

The first year of women’s basketball was to stay alive. To save money on the first out-of-state game, the team stayed with Lopiano’s parents in Connecticut.

Texas makes the top 20

1976 was the Women’s basketball program’s first game  in the “Drum.”

A comment that Jody Conradt made at the dedication of the Denton Cooley Pavilion

Ranked #12 in the AIAW.  South Zone champions. Linda Waggoner leads the way when the team lost two starters to injuries. 

Rheta Swindell

Retha Swindell, a 6-2 post, was the first black woman to play any sport at Texas and one of the first two All-Americans. She was recruited by Rodney Page, who was the first black coach at Texas. Rodney Page is a contributor to the site and tells her story in an article written in February 2019.

She’s one of only five players to record 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in her UT career. As of 2018, her school records of 1,759 career rebounds and an average of 11.6 rebounds per game still stands. She ranks 8th in all-time scoring. Coach Conradt says it was unusual in the 70s to have a tall and mobile woman like Rheta.

1977-1978  29-10 RECORD COACH Conradt- ranked #15 in the polls

National championship teams require good recruiting, a competent coaching staff, players with faith in the system, trust and respect from teammates, talent, team chemistry, a strong work ethic, and a little luck. With a little luck this team could have been a National Champion.

Coach Conradt recruits players with speed to play a pressing and fast break offense.  Linda Waggoner and Jackie Swaim lead the team to success.  Tennessee humiliates the Horns 84-66  and settles for second place in the TAIWA  tournament.   Texas lost to Louisiana Tech at the AIAW playoff tournament.  Linda Waggoner is chosen as one of the top 20 basketball athletes in the nation.

1978- 1979-  37-4 record   Coach Conradt #4 ranking nationally

The Horns had a great year, but it was obvious that they were still not ready for big-league basketball when they lost to Old Dominion 75-45.  Texas did not win the state championship or a regional championship even though they had one of the best basketball records.

The Texas Women’s Athletic department continues to wean itself from dependence on the Men’s program.

There are 3 televised games

Swaim is lost for the season due to injury.

Texas has a 31 game win streak.

Old Dominion embarrasses Texas (75-45). Texas still has a long way to go to be part of elite College basketball.

Conradt is AIAW Coach of the year.

1979- 1980- 33-4 record  Coach Conradt   ranked 7 in the Nation

The team wins the State title but lost the AIAW regionals to SFA again.  Horns receive an at large bid to the AIAW Nationals but lose to Illinois State.

Swaim had a school record of 40 points against N.E. Louisiana.

According to the book THE HISTORY OF TEXAS BASKETBALL by Richard Pennington, Coach Conradt and AD Donna Lopiano supported the AIAW over the NCAA’s bid for control of Women’s college sports.

Swaim recovered from her knee injury and received hardship status.

First-year for the SWC tournament

Since the inception of the AIAW, the Longhorns had been dominated in the state tournament by Stephen F. Austin and Wayland Baptist. This year that changes.  The whole Tower is burnt orange for the first time in Texas Women’s basketball history.

Illinois State eliminates Texas in tournament play.

1980-1981 28-8  record; Coach Conradt ranked #16

From 1977 to 1981, the Longhorns never make it past regionals in the AIAW tournament, but in the final year of the AIAW Texas makes it to the finals.

1981-1982 35-4 Under AIAW rules team was runner-up for the AIAW championship

Carrying a 32-game win streak, Texas loses to Rutgers in the championship game.

This is the Last year for the AIAW.  Paul Schnitt of the Austin American-Statesman stated that the AIAW members included “the giant burnt orange steer against a bunch of foundering midgets.”

Horns compete in the AIAW post-season tournament, but during the season, they also played teams from the NCAA.

National championship teams require good recruiting, a competent coaching staff, players with faith in the system, trust and respect from teammates, talent, team chemistry, a strong work ethic, and a little luck. With a little luck this team could have been a National Champion.

1982- 1983 30- 3 record  A great team with bad luck- 5 knee injuries- Ruins a  National championship run to the elite 8

In 1982 the team was rebuilding. Cheryl Hartman missed the season with an injury. Freshmen Shell Bollin and Annette Smith compete to replace Cheryl Hartman. Conradt says the starters may not be the best athletes, but they will be the best team player.

This team played Cuba and the People’s Republic of China.

By January of 1983 Conradt says this is her deepest and most talented team. It is the first time Conradt’s team made the top 10.

The Longhorns are 0-5 against Stephen F. Austin, but in 1983, Texas finally breaks this streak to win 95-88.

Annette Smith is the SWC Conference Player of the Year. Texas makes the NCAA tournament, but Louisiana Tech ends the Longhorns 25 game winning streak.

National championship teams require good recruiting, a competent coaching staff, players with faith in the system, trust and respect from teammates, talent, team chemistry, a strong work ethic, and a little luck.  With a little luck, this team could have been a National Champion.   

 Five Longhorns were lost because of knee injuries. The 5’11” Annette Smith needed five hours of reconstructive surgery, five months on crutches, and 15 months of rehabilitation.

Annette Smith, UT’s All-Time Leading Scorer with a career FT attempts of 676.

National championship teams require good recruiting, a competent coaching staff, players with faith in the system, trust and respect from teammates, talent, team chemistry, a strong work ethic, and a little luck.  With a little luck, this team could have been a National Champion.   

Ranked number one in the polls, but they were eliminated in tournament play.

1983-1984 32-3 made the elite 8

1984- 1985 28-3 record- Sweet 16

ranked number one in the polls but eliminated by Western Kentucky in NCAA tournament play. 

Fran played for coach Jody Conradt from 1982-86.  During her years as a Longhorn, she was named Southwest Conference Player of the Year in 1984-85 and was the national championship team’s MVP.

After college, Harris played professional basketball in the WNBA and for Italian and Swiss teams.

After basketball, she spent time with Procter & Gamble, as a broadcaster with ESPN, as a host on HGTV Home Rules and Good Morning America, and as an adjunct professor at UT.

In 2007, Harris was inducted into the UT Athletics Women’s Hall of Honor.

In 2014 Fran Harris returned to her roots and joined the Longhorn Women’s basketball administration.

 Texas loses 92-90 in the Mideast Regional championship game to Western Kentucky. “I’m not over it yet; I’ll never get over it,” says Texas coach Jody Conradt. ” Jody’s record over 3 years is 90-9 with no national championship.

Coach Conradt, for the first time, concedes that the lack of challenges from SWC teams in conference play makes it difficult to be at the top of their game during NCAA tournament play.

The Conradt basketball dynasty is featured in Sports Illustrated, USA Today, and The New York Times. NBC, ESPN, and CNN also did specials on the Horns.

1985-1986 –  34-0  Completed the first perfect season in women’s college basketball in the NCAA era

Much of the research for the history of Longhorn women’s basketball was captured by Miriam Richards in 2012 as part of her Capstone project.

Annette Smith’s injury status is the X factor that will transform Texas into a national champion contender if healed or an also-ran if not.

Miriam Richards says:

“After No. 1 rankings and high expectations in their previous two seasons, the Longhorns finally capitalized against USC in the 1986 National Championship Game, making history in the process as the first team to go undefeated at 34-0.”

Georgia Coach Andy Landers on the 1986 Longhorns: “You could take their first five, mix them up with five high school players, take their second five, mix them up with five high school players, and you’d still have four teams probably good enough to be in the Top 10.”

Jody Conradt about the game:

“The first thought was perfection. Immediately after the USC game, it just hit me that we had accomplished something no other team had. There will be a champion crowned every year, but the undefeated championships will form an elite group.”

Old Dominion and the Texas Longhorns women’s basketball teams played each other during the 1985–86 season. The game took place on January 20, 1986, in Austin, Texas, and Texas won decisively with a score of 93–62.  The game was  Texas women’s first televised appearance on ESPN against Old Dominion, the defending national champions. Following their victory over Old Dominion, it became readily apparent just how talented the 1986 squad was. After the game, Old Dominion Coach Marianne Stanley said, “I think Texas is a team of destiny; they want it and don’t want anybody to come in here and take it away from them.”

There were 17,338 empty seats in 23,000-seat Rupp Arena for the women’s championship game.

Average attendance sets a record of 5,289 per game.

Texas is 98-0 in conference play since 1978.

For the 3rd time, Conradt is National Coach of the Year.

Kamie Ethridge the “quarterback” of the finest team in Lady Longhorn basketball history. She was one of six who had played knee surgery. Records cannot be broken, only duplicate when the record is perfect. During the championship game against USC, the bench outscored the starting 5 58-39.

1986- 1987- 31-2 record made the final 4

With A Little Luck, this Team Could Have Been A National Champion.  The team makes the final 4 but loses to Louisiana Tech at Reunion Arena 79-75.

1987-1988 32-3 record Elite 8

 Texas played 13 of the top 40 teams this year. Horns during not conference averaged 8000 fans  and the road battle with Tennessee was attended by 24, 563.   Texas lost to Lousiana Tech in NCAA tournament play for the second time in a row.

The Longhorns continue to use a patented Lady Longhorn fast break to win games, and Beverly Williams and Yolanda Wimbish are back to engineer the break. If they can’t run, then Davis will take the shots.

Texas women played a tough schedule this year, including 13 teams in the NCAA tournament from the previous year plus the Russian national team. 

Number 1 again

With a little luck, this team could have been a national champion.

Texas beats #1 Tennessee in record form. The game was promoted with a ticket giveaway.

Clarissa Davis has 45 points in a victory over Tennessee in front of an NCAA record crowd of 24,563 fans that lasted for 11 years. A Guinness’s verifier confirmed the count. This one game’s attendance exceeded each of the other nine Southeastern Conference women’s teams’ total season. The game was not close. Both coaches wanted a down-to-the-wire epic game to promote women’s basketball. Both were disappointed. “We can hope that people saw the potential,” said Summitt afterward, “but obviously we didn’t do the sales job we intended to do.” Even Texas coach Jody Conradt had a tempered view of her team’s stunning show. Conradt said, “It would have been better if the score had been closer,” she said. “But there are limits that even I have for promoting the game.”

Conradt says “The time of women’s basketball has arrived, and I honestly mean it when I say the biggest pressure in this game is that I have to put on a good show. We don’t have to play flawlessly, but play with intensity and be credible.”

Clarissa has a season-ending knee injury later in the year which hurts the team’s chances of winning the national championship. Doretha Conwall was named MVP of the SWC tournament.

Texas seasons again ends with a loss to Louisiana Tech

1988 27-5 record  Coach Conradt- Elite 8-

The Horns extended their winning streak in the SWC to 96 games.

Edna Campbell and Vicki Hall lead the team.

Clarissa held the team together until the newer players gained some confidence. This team swept the conference and tournament play.

The women’s team made the elite 8. Edna Campbell and Vicki Hall were the marquee players. On February 23, a crowd of 11,616 saw the Razorbacks end a 183-game win streak, but Texas still made it to the elite 8 in the NCAA tournament losing to Louisiana Tech . The women’s71-57. All of the losses during the year are to teams that made the NCAA tournament. Edna Campbell is the MVP for the SWC tournament.

Susan Anderson also had an outstanding year.

1989 – 27-5 Elite 8 – Elite 8, but The UT program that dominated in the 80s starts a slow decline

Edna Campbell Hall of Honor.

Texas leads the nation in attendance for the 5th year in a row.

The season ended with another loss to Louisiana Tech in the NCAA tournament.  The game was not close  (71-57)

1990 21-9 record (The centennial year of Longhorn basketball) eliminated in the first round of the NCAA tournament

Horns won the postseason crown on a last-second shot by Benita Pollard #33.

March 7, 1991, a 10 game winning streak against SWC opponents ends with a defeat to Texas Tech 63-61.  It was Tech’s first win against the Longhorns in 37 tries.

The Longhorn Critic proof program begins to fade, and Critics start to question Coach Conradt’s program.

• Dallas Morning News writes, “Lady Longhorns baffled by the decline of dominance.”

• Austin American Statesman states, “Slide from the Summit.”

• Coach Conradt told the San Antonio Express-News, ” The Texas mystique is dead. We’re just like anybody else now.

Lamar beats Texas in the NCAA tournament.

1991-1992 21-10 record Coach Conradt – 3rd in the conference eliminated in the second round of the NCAA tournament

Texas played five teams in the top 25 this year, settling for a 3 – 3 record. For the first time in history, the Longhorn women’s basketball team suffered three straight losses in the SWC. Their record after the 3rd consecutive loss was 15-8.

Tech won both the SWC regular season and the SWC tournament 76-74.

The team loses to Louisiana Tech in the Midwest regionals.

Vicki Hall had a devastating knee injury in 1991, so she received another year’s scholarship. Playing with a brace in 1992, Vicki sets a career Longhorn women’s basketball record with 104 three-point shots and is All SWC three times.

Texas drops out of the top 25 poll for the first time in 10 years.

More derogatory articles are written about the direction of Coach Conradt’s program.

1992-1993 –  22-8 Record Coach Conradt- eliminated in the 2nd round of the NCAA tournament.

Cinnietra Henderson, as of 2002, has the best season FG percent of .649 and career of 425 FT’s made.

Freshman year Danielle Viglione leads the SWC in scoring and with the support of the NCAA and Title IX women Longhorn are on the way to an equity position with the men’s athletic program. The preliminary NCAA plan requires annual reports comparing the treatment of men’s and women’s sports programs.

Top of the Charts 1993 UB40

AD Lopiano resigns to join a Women’s Sports organization. Texas settles Title IX lawsuit, and the UT administration starts funding women’s soccer, softball, and some other sports.

Coach Conradt becomes the first women’s coach to win 600 games

1993- 1994-  22-9 Record Coach Conradt eliminated in 2nd round of NCAA tournament

Danielle Viglione, as of 2002, had the most 3 points attempts in a season (308), the career record for 3-point shots made of 239, and the career record of 793 3-point attempts.

1994-1995-  12-16 Record Coach Conradt

For the first time in the history of the SWC, there were no Longhorns on the all-conference team.  This was the first-ever losing record, and the first time since 1982 the Horns were not in the playoffs. Amie Smith led the team in rebounding.

Attendance continues to shrink.

Marsha Sharp from Texas Tech says, “Tech does not have to be at peak form to beat UT.”  Tech won 84-40

 It was an ugly year for the Horns, and the first time in 20 years, Texas did not get invited to a post-season tournament.

1995-1996 21-9 Record Coach Conradt- eliminated in the 2nd round of the NCAA tournament

A much better year than 1995 but far from great.  Randy Riggs from the Austin American Statesman says, ” the UT women had done more uphill climbs than Sir Edmund Hillary.”

Coach Conradt was inducted into the Women’s Sports Foundation Hall of Fame.

Kim Lummina as of 2002 has the career record FT percent of .839

1996-1997 22-8  Record  Coach Conradt -eliminated in the 2nd round of the NCAA tournament

The SWC members SMU, TCU, Rice, and Houston are not included in the new Big 12 conference.

Conradt gets a $250,000 a-year raise and extension until 2002.

Kim Lummus

This was Coach Conradt’s most experienced group in 10 years. 5 seniors, 6 other letter winners return to a team that won the SWC the year before. This year will be the first for the Big 12 conference.

1997-1998 12-15 Record Coach Conradt

UT goes 0-11 on the road

1998-1999  16- 12 Record Coach Conradt eliminated in the first round of the NCAA tournament

1999-2000- 21-13 eliminated in the first round of the NCAA tournament

This year was the 22nd 20-game win season. Stunned N.C. State in competition, upset #10 Illinois, beat rated Oklahoma twice and was invited to the NCAA tournament for the 16th time.

TOP OF THE CHARTS 1999 Cristina Aguilera

2000-2001 21-13 eliminated in the first round of the NCAA tournament

2001-2002 22-10 – team made the Sweet 16

Kala Bowers, as of 2002, had the best 3-point percentage of .453

2002-2003 29-6 Texas reached the final 4

2003-2004 30-5  pending info Texas wins their first big 12 tournament- makes the sweet 16

Conradt Earns 800th Win

The team makes Final 4 but loses to Connecticut. Texas’ Jody Conradt is the second women’s basketball coach to win 800 games. Conradt is 800-262 in 34 seasons, with one championship.

Stacy Stephens had 16 of her 20 points in the second half

Heather Schreiber (Hall of Honor inductee) had 15 points, and a career-high 15 rebounds as Texas (12-4, 5-0 Big 12) snapped Tech’s 15-game winning streak and stayed in first place in the conference.

The team makes Final 4 but loses to Connecticut.

2004-2005 22-9 eliminated in the second round of the NCAA tournament

2005-2006 13-15  pending info

 2006-2007 18-14 pending info

Coach Conradt won her last home game against Texas Tech. She coached the Longhorns for 31 years and successfully transitioned her teams from the AIAW to the NCAA, SWC, and the Big 12.

Kristin Nash

• Academic All-Big 12 Women’s Basketball Team 2007-2011
• UT Athletic Director’s Honor Roll 2007-2011
• State Farm Lone Star Showdown Scholar-Athlete 2009-2010
• Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll 2006-2009

Reflections of a great coach

Coach Conradt is one of the greatest basketball coaches of all time. With a little luck, Coach Conradt teams could have challenged Connecticut women’s basketball as the best program in intercollegiate women’s basketball history.

National championship teams require good recruiting, a competent coaching staff, players with faith in the system, trust, respect, talent, team chemistry, a strong work ethic, and a little luck. Texas lost to Louisiana Tech 8 out of 8 years, and even if Texas had won all those games, injuries, lousy luck, and quirky plays still derailed some Longhorn national championship runs.

Conradt’s teams have advanced to the final eight four times. Including a devastating loss in the Mideast regional semifinal, in which Western Kentucky upset Texas 92-90, she said, “I don’t think I’ll ever get over this.”

THE 600 CLUB Article from Sports Illustrated December 21, 1992

In the mid-70s, when Coach Jody Conradt was building a winning women’s basketball program at Texas, she spent $5 on a magazine that explained North Carolina coach Dean Smith’s run-and-jump defense. Coach Conradt said, “That became the defensive philosophy I’ve always tried to follow.” Years later, Coach Conradt joined Dean Smith in the small group of active Division I coaches who won 600 games. She was the first woman to reach that pinnacle in basketball when the Lady Longhorns beat Creighton 86-69. Coach Conradt is now the inspiration for many new coaches. Arkansas women’s coach John Sutherland, whose team ended Texas’s remarkable streak of 183 conference victories in 1990, recalls the time the Lady Longhorns beat the Lady Razorbacks by 42 points in 1985. He asked Conradt to breakfast the next morning, looking for suggestions on how to improve his team. Conradt offered some and then said, “When you beat us….” Sutherland suggested that she meant if, not when. “She pointed the finger at me and said, ‘When you beat us. You have to believe that first,'” says Sutherland. “I will never forget that. That was one of the most important things anyone ever said to me in coaching. There are few people I respect in the game of basketball more than Jody Conradt.” Former Texas Tech Head Coach Marsha Sharp says, “Jody is an icon in the women’s game. The program she has built at the University of Texas is a model for programs all across the nation. The footprints she leaves will always be an important part of our history. I personally consider her a mentor and friend, and she has always been a classy competitor. Her 900 wins point to the fact that she is one of the best that has ever coached this game.” – End of Sports Illustrated article All coaches have to overcome nemesis, injuries, bad luck, and quirky plays to reach the pinnacle of success in college sports. Coach Conradt is no exception. Injuries and Coach Conradt’s nemesis Louisiana Tech thwarted Texas momentum several times, and arguments can be made that both cost the Horns several national championships. College basketball teams don’t lose players like Longhorn players Jackie Swaim, Annette Smith, Yulonda Wimbish, Doreatha Conwell, Clarissa Davis, and Vicki Hall without some unfavorable consequences. Then there is Louisiana Tech. For eight years, the Longhorns were National Championship contenders, and seven times the Longhorns lost to Louisiana Tech.