A Coach’s Drive: About More Than Winning

In 2011, Nancy Fahey, women’s basketball coach, became the first Division III coach or student-athlete inductee into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame. (Joe Angeles)

Five national championships, 10 Final Fours, 19 UAA championships, 17 UAA Coach of the Year and seven NCAA Division III Coach of the Year honors. These statistics — just a few of the many — speak volumes about the success of women’s basketball Coach Nancy Fahey. Yet in considering Fahey’s 26-year career at the university, stats tell only part of the remarkable story.

As head coach, each season Fahey coalesces new and returning players, 18- to 22-year-olds, into a competitive unit, ultimately to win basketball games. Her career winning percentage hovers around .850, so she seems to have the winning part down.

“The most meaningful and lasting highlight of my career, however, relates to the friendships I formed with my teammates, coaching staff and the players’ families. It was Coach Fahey who brought us all together as a Bear family.”

—Jennifer (Rudis) Deschamp, AB ’03, guard

In addition to teaching her young competitors the X’s and O’s of a complex collegiate system, Fahey also imparts intangibles. Her goal: “I tell them that if after four years they have gained the respect of their teammates, then they have had a great four years,” Fahey says.

Fahey stresses that each player has an opportunity to develop friendships that will last a lifetime.

Jennifer (Rudis) Deschamp, AB ’03, guard (1999–2003), testifies: “I was so blessed to be part of two amazing national title championship runs. The most meaningful and lasting highlight of my career, however, relates to the friendships I formed with my teammates, coaching staff and the players’ families. It was Coach Fahey who brought us all together as a Bear family.”

This family feeling was unmistakable Feb. 26, 2011, when more than 300 people gathered for a surprise 25th reunion to pay tribute to Fahey. Among those attending were current student-athletes, former players and their families, assistant coaches, administrators, friends and family, including her sister and two brothers.

“The bonds we developed during our playing years are still strong. When we get together, it’s as if no time has passed,” says Alia (Fischer) Keys, AB ’00, center (1996–2000). “Coach Fahey really set the tone by encouraging a family atmosphere, which started with the coaches and players and extended to their families.”

“It’s not just about what happens on the court for her,” says Annitre Edison, BSBA ’97, assistant coach in her ninth year and point guard (1993–97). “I think that’s the biggest reason why I’m still with the team. It’s because of her beliefs and how she runs the program, teaching not just basketball, but the idea of responsibility, commitment and dedication to each other.”

Midwestern Roots

Growing up on a dairy farm in Wisconsin, Fahey learned at home the importance of working hard and being dedicated to family. She credits her father and mother as being her biggest inspirations.

Growing up on a dairy farm in Wisconsin, Nancy Fahey learned at home the importance of working hard and being dedicated to family. She credits her father and mother as being her biggest inspirations.

In her youth, she discovered the joy of basketball playing pick-up games with her brothers, yet she was not able to join an organized team until high school. In 1973, her freshman year — the year following the passage of the landmark legislation Title IX — Belleville (Wisconsin) High School offered girls a chance to play basketball at the varsity level. Receiving her parents’ permission to play, Fahey excelled, becoming a four-year letter-winner, all-conference selection, two-year team captain and most valuable player.

Next up: the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where she earned four varsity letters, started as point guard two years, and was selected team captain her senior year. Majoring in physical education, Fahey’s goal was to teach, but not necessarily to coach — that is until she and other Wisconsin basketball players worked as summer camp counselors.

“During the camp, we led stations, such as dribbling, passing and shooting. The first time I coached a station, I got lost in it. I didn’t see anyone else in the gym but the kids in front of me,” Fahey says. “From that moment, I gravitated to coaching, and all my focus went into that. To this day, I feel that singular focus when I walk onto a basketball court.”

After earning her degree, Fahey first coached high school (one year as an assistant and four as head coach). “I wanted to make sure. Just because you can play the game, doesn’t mean you can teach it,” Fahey says. “I did feel comfortable coaching, though, because I was educated to be a teacher. Not all coaches have a physical education background, but it’s helped me be a better coach.”

After a slow start and a blow-out loss in her first game — and then some soul-searching and re-assessing about whether to stick with coaching — Fahey took Johnsburg High School in McHenry, Ill., from five wins in her first season to a pair of 20-win seasons. The team won two-consecutive regional championships, and Fahey knew from then on she wanted to coach full time.

Coaching at a Higher Level

“I began looking at colleges and universities within a six-hour radius from Wisconsin, because I wanted to be able to drive home and visit family,” Fahey says. “Honestly, I had never heard of Washington University, yet after I saw the campus and interviewed, I thought, ‘Oh, I want this.’”

“We had over 100 applicants, and we narrowed it down to three,” says John Schael, director of Washington University Athletics. “Following the interviewing process, I believed that Nancy Fahey stood tall … and there was no question in my mind that she could lead, motivate, inspire, encourage and, on occasion when needed, provoke.”

Schael’s hire seems even more prescient 26 years later. In 2011, Fahey was selected into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, the first Division III coach or student-athlete to be inducted. And she earned her 600th career win … and counting.

“She taught me to value every person. More than wins or stats, Coach Fahey truly cares about each person on the team.”

—Alia (Fischer) Keys, AB ’00, center

“We concentrate on competing, on making sure this is a quality experience for the students,” Fahey says. “So many people have helped make this program; I could go on and on about how important my assistant coaches are. For me, this is a team effort, and a team recognition.”

After all the success, Fahey remains focused on having a positive impact on her players, and making sure basketball fits in with their overall education.

“Coach Fahey was the ultimate mentor in basketball and life,” Deschamp says. “The greatest lesson she taught me was to show up every day with a positive attitude and a devotion to the larger cause. This may sound simple, but it is a mind-set that, to this day, transforms everything I do.”

“She is the absolute most genuine person I know,” Edison says. “Coach Fahey recognizes the good in everybody, and she finds a way to make her players feel special, regardless of how much time they have on the floor.”

“She taught me to value every person,” says Keys, who was a three-time WBCA Division III Player of the Year. “More than wins or stats, Coach Fahey truly cares about each person on the team.”

Terri Nappier is editor of this magazine.

Learn more about women’s basketball.

COACHING AT A HIGHER LEVEL

“I began looking at colleges and universities within a six-hour radius from Wisconsin, because I wanted to be able to drive home and visit family,” Fahey says. “Honestly, I had never heard of Washington University, yet after I saw the campus and interviewed, I thought, ‘Oh, I want this.’”

“We had over 100 applicants, and we narrowed it down to three,” says John Schael, director of Washington University Athletics. “Following the interviewing process, I believed that Nancy Fahey stood tall … and there was no question in my mind that she could lead, motivate, inspire, encourage and, on occasion when needed, provoke.”

Schael’s hire seems even more prescient 26 years later. In 2011, Fahey was selected into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, the first Division III coach or student-athlete to be inducted. And she earned her 600th career win … and counting.

“She taught me to value every person. More than wins or stats, Coach Fahey truly cares about each person on the team.”

—Alia (Fischer) Keys, AB ’00, center

“We concentrate on competing, on making sure this is a quality experience for the students,” Fahey says. “So many people have helped make this program; I could go on and on about how important my assistant coaches are. For me, this is a team effort, and a team recognition.”

After all the success, Fahey remains focused on having a positive impact on her players, and making sure basketball fits in with their overall education.

“Coach Fahey was the ultimate mentor in basketball and life,” Deschamp says. “The greatest lesson she taught me was to show up every day with a positive attitude and a devotion to the larger cause. This may sound simple, but it is a mind-set that, to this day, transforms everything I do.”

“She is the absolute most genuine person I know,” Edison says. “Coach Fahey recognizes the good in everybody, and she finds a way to make her players feel special, regardless of how much time they have on the floor.”

“She taught me to value every person,” says Keys, who was a three-time WBCA Division III Player of the Year. “More than wins or stats, Coach Fahey truly cares about each person on the team.”

Terri Nappier is editor of this magazine.

Learn more about women’s basketball.

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