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A couple weeks ago, Illinois decide to fire Matt Bollant after five years as the head coach of the program. Immediately the athletic department began its search for a replacement coach – that search is over now.
The Fighting Illini has decided to hire Nancy Fahey, according to a report in the News-Gazette.
While her name might not be well-known to many, Fahey has coached for years, establishing a tremendous track record.
For the past 31 seasons, Fahey has been the head coach of Washington University in St. Louis a Division III university. Fahey is the only coach in D3 history to have won five national championships – four which were consecutive from 1998-2001. The last time Washington University won was in 2010.
Her winning percentage sits at an outstanding 84.7% -- sixth among all active NCAA coaches --with an overall record of 737-133 as the Bears head coach. With the exception of her first year where her team only won 16 games, Fahey has led her team to at least 19 wins each season; however, the last nine seasons the Bears have won a minimum of 21 games.
In her career she has been inducted into three Hall of Fames: The Washington University Sports in 2012 (the first NCAA Division III representative), the Missouri Sports in 2014, and the St. Louis Sports in 2016. Along with being the head coach of the Bears, Fahey has served as an Assistant Director of Athletics at the university since July of 2015.