Chattanooga women's basketball coach Jim Foster is a win away from making history as the first coach to qualify four teams for the NCAA D-I championship.
Playing in this weekend's Southern Conference tournament in Asheville, N.C., The No.1 seeded Lady Mocs take on No.4 Davidson Monday at 5 p.m. (CSS and ESPN3) for the title and an automatic berth in the NCAA championship.
UTC (28-3) beat Ga. Southern, 66-47, in a Saturday quarterfinal game and eliminated Elon, 77-44, in a Sunday semifinal. Davidson beat Wofford, 74-67, in the other semifinal game.
At present, Foster is one of eight coaches who have taken three schools to the Women's D-I NCAAs.
Foster has taken St. Joseph's (Pa.), (6), Vanderbilt (10) and Ohio State (10) to the D-I Big Dance in the past.
Eight Coaches – Three D-I Women’s Schools in the NCAA Championship
Kate Abrahamson-Henderson – Iowa, Missouri State and Albany
Gary Blair – Stephen F. Austin, Arkansas, Texas A&M
Patricia Cage-Bibbs – Grambling, Hampton, N.C. A&T
Tom Cohen – Colorado State, Louisville, Arkansas
Jim Foster – Saint Joseph’s, Vanderbilt, Ohio State
Joanne P. McCallie – Maine, Michigan State, Duke
Marianne Stanley – Old Dominion, Southern California, Stanford
C. Vivian Stringer – Cheyney, Iowa, Rutgers
Jim Foster Stats
28 - wins this season (28-3) his career best is 31 at Ohio State
27 - 20-win seasons at four schools (27 of 36 seasons - including 2013-14)
26 - trips to the D-I NCAA tournament (26 of 35 years; prior to 2013-14)
24 - consecutive wins in a season (a personal best established this season)
6 - Sweet 16 appearances (Vandy and Ohio State)
4 - Elite 8 appearances (Vandy and Ohio State)
1 - Final Four Appearances (1992 at Vanderbilt)
"Journey to 30" - if UTC (28-3) wins Monday followed by a first round win in the NCAA tournament, UTC will have a school record 30 wins ... the current record is 29.
contact B.B. Branton at william.branton@comcast.net