In the sports world, establishing a championship culture can prove to be challenging. Injuries, player fluctuations and even the occasional global pandemic might interfere with team prosperity. But, certain individuals seem to consistently accomplish the impossible, repeatedly coming out on top despite facing unimaginable pressure.
We’ve witnessed Phil Jackson collect a staggering eleven rings with Jordan in Chicago and Kobe in Los Angeles. Brady hoisted the Lombardi for Tampa Bay the season after waving goodbye to fans in Foxboro, and Chris Paul and LeBron James elevated team win percentages each time they represented different franchises. Leaders exhibit winning DNA regardless of the circumstances, and Marisa Moseley, head coach of the University of Wisconsin’s women’s basketball squad, is no stranger to success.
In her home state, Moseley played college hoops at Boston University from 2000 to 2004, and in 2003, she helped guide the Terriers to their only NCAA Tournament appearance in program history as the team’s defensive player of the year.
In 2005, she launched her coaching career as an assistant for the University of Denver’s women’s team, amassing a 35-24 record over two years with back-to-back second place finishes in conference play.
Following her tenure in Denver, Moseley experienced her first taste of The Big Dance as part of a coaching staff — she joined forces with Pam Borton’s Minnesota team as an assistant. With 20-12 records in 2008 and 2009, the Gophers reached the tournament both seasons with the Massachusetts-native court-side.
Moseley left Minnesota after the 2008-2009 campaign with a .611 win percentage, but her imprint as a coach was far from over.
In 2009, she accepted an assistant role at the most prestigious women’s program in recent history — the University of Connecticut. Over the next nine years, Marisa Moseley would help the Huskies win five national championships, achieve three perfect seasons and reach the Final Four every year. She also mentored three AP National Players of the Year, 11 All-Americans, seven Olympians and 14-eventual WNBA players while boasting a 331-14 record under Geno Auriemma.
After compiling a remarkable .959 win percentage with Connecticut’s finest sports dynasty, Moseley returned home to her alma mater, BU, in 2018.
Basketball: Badgers show game face for first time last night in battle with Warhawks
Prior to her take-over as head coach, the Terriers went 26-63 with a .292 win percentage over three years. Afterwards, she transformed BU’s women’s team and built a winning culture, going 45-29 with a .316 boost in win percentage as head coach.
In her first year, she led the women’s squad to a 15-14 record and fourth place finish in the Patriot League, exceeding expectations and securing Patriot League Coach of the Year. Two years later, Moseley guided her 12-3 team to a division title and first-ever conference tournament championship game with first-team All-Patriot Katie Nelson at guard.
Expectations
After four pit-stops, five national championships and 11 NCAA tournament appearances, Moseley was welcomed as the eighth head coach in Badger women’s basketball history on March 26, 2021.
The women’s team went 2-18 in inter-conference play last year, ending the season with a 5-19 overall record and last place finish in the Big Ten. With experience in four different conferences, Moseley’s exposure to elite talent and success will undoubtedly aid a struggling program hungry for improvement. Not to mention, the additions of freshmen Maty Wilke, Krystyna Ellew and Sacia Vanderpool will provide UW with a much-needed spark.
Moseley’s tool box speaks for itself, and she will look to reinvent the Badgers with the same toughness and camaraderie UConn experienced throughout much of the past decade. It wouldn’t surprise me if the team took a substantial leap to become a competitive force in the Big Ten this season.
More on Moseley
At BU, Moseley contributed to the Patriot League’s Anti-Racism Commission as well as the university’s Social Justice & Inclusion Committee, where she served as one the department’s 13 coaches and staff members.
She also participated in the University of Connecticut’s Diversity Council and the University of Denver’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee. Needless to say, Marisa Moseley’s leadership not only reaches her athletes, but the community as well.
