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April 14, 2002
OXFORD, Ohio-Miami University Director of Athletics Joel Maturi announced today at the inaugural Miami Women's Basketball Banquet, that head coach Maria Fantanarosa has been given a three-year contract extension through the 2006-07 campaign.
Fresh off the program's winningest season in five years, Fantanarosa has improved Miami's win total in each of her first four campaigns, while guiding the Red and White to three consecutive Mid-American Conference Quarterfinal appearances and two straight MAC Semifinal showings. Miami posted a 19-11 overall and 11-5 league record during a 2001-02 campaign in which the RedHawks played seven games against NCAA Tournament and WNIT qualifiers and produced the program's first MAC Player of the Year since 1983. Fantanarosa's overall coaching record at Miami stands at 64-49 (.566).
"Maria is a superb example to our student-athletes and has done a tremendous job of leading this program to the top tier of the Mid-American Conference," Maturi said. "She takes pride in her alma mater, and it shows in the energy and intensity she puts into her program. When looking at what she has accomplished in just four seasons here, I'm excited to see just how much further this program can go."
A 1990 graduate of Miami, Fantanarosa was a two-time all-MAC standout on the court for the Red and White and still ranks among the program's Top 10 in points and assists. After earning her degree from Miami, the Kulpmont, Pa., native worked as an assistant coach at Xavier University (1990-94) and the University of South Carolina (1994-97) before serving as head coach at Western Carolina University during the 1997-98 campaign. Fantanarosa was hired as Miami's seventh head women's basketball coach in the summer of 1998.
"The extension came as a pleasant surprise to me," Fantanarosa said. "There's no question I enjoy being at Miami and am committed to the future of the program. The extension comes as a nice vote of confidence from the Miami administration that the program is heading in the right direction."
Fantanarosa, 35, was one of the most prolific scorers in high school girls basketball history, tallying a Pennsylvania state record 3,823 points during four years at Mt. Carmel Area High School. The total still ranks among the Top 10 in prep girls basketball history.
Miami, which loses no scholarship players from this season's team, returns 99 percent of its scoring and rebounding from last season.
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