Barbara Stevens, head coach of Bentley University, claimed her 1,000th career win Wednesday, Jan. 17, as the Falcons defeated Adelphi University, 78-66. She is the third college women’s basketball coach this season and the fifth all-time to reach 1,000 victories.
“Tremendous to think about all the time, talent and service combined to reach 1,000 wins,” said Danielle Donehew, executive director of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association. “Congratulations to Coach Barbara Stevens, her staff, team and family for surpassing this historic milestone. The WBCA salutes our past president and applauds her many contributions to our game.”
Stevens began her coaching career as an assistant coach at Clark University during the 1976-77 season. She later spent three years as head coach at the University of Massachusetts before joining the Falcons in 1986.
At Bentley, Stevens has secured 29 NCAA tournament berths, 14 NCAA regional championships, 10 appearances in the national semifinals, 12 30-win seasons and 19 Northeast-10 regular season championships. She has broken the school’s record for consecutive wins seven times.
Throughout her career, Stevens has collected five United States Marine Corps/WBCA NCAA Division II National Coach of the Year honors and has 15 Northeast-10 Coach of the Year titles. She was also named the NCAA Division II Coach of the Year by the American Women’s Sports Federation following the 1988-89 season.
In 2005, Stevens became the first women’s basketball coach in New England history to achieve 500 career wins, and in 2006, she was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame. She is a Carol Eckman Integrity in Coaching Award winner and holds the title as the winningest coach in NCAA Division II history since Feb. 6, 1999.
Congratulations to Stevens, a WBCA past president, on her historic win!