FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 20, 2013
Courtesy of Saint Anselm Athletics Communications
MANCHESTER, N.H. – Saint Anselm College Director of Athletics Dr. Kelly Higgins announced Wednesday that Julie Plant has been hired as the sixth women's basketball coach in the 37-year history of the program. She will begin her duties July 1.
"I want to thank the review committee and everyone involved in the process for bringing Julie's name forward for my consideration," Dr. Higgins said. "She did a remarkable job creating an extraordinarily successful program at Regis College and I am excited that she has agreed to take on our women's basketball position. We expect she will be a great asset to the athletic department and College, as well as the greater Manchester community, and we look forward to working with her."
Plant has spent the past eight seasons as the head coach at Division III Regis College, where she is the second winningest coach in program history after amassing an overall record of 128-87 (.595), including 80-45 (.640) in conference play. Plant has guided the Pride to 41 consecutive league victories, including the last 36 in the New England College Conference (NECC) and five in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC). Regis is 44-11 (.800) overall and a perfect 36-0 in conference play over the past two seasons.
"I am extremely excited to have been given the opportunity to lead the Saint Anselm women's basketball program," said Plant, who has also served as Regis' Senior Woman Administrator since the summer of 2010. "I feel so blessed and honored for the chance to coach at such a prestigious academic institution that competes in the Northeast-10 – one of the best Division II conferences in the country. I'd like to thank Dr. Kelly Higgins, Dr. Joe Horton and the entire hiring committee for allowing me this special opportunity. I'm looking forward to working with the talented young women currently in the program and beginning to build toward future success."
Plant arrived in Weston, Mass., in the summer of 2005 and turned a struggling program into a conference contender in just two seasons. After suffering through a 5-20 2006-07 campaign, Plant earned 2008 CCC Coach of the Year honors after a nationally-recognized turnaround that resulted in an 18-8 record and the first of six consecutive league tournament berths. In the last six seasons, Plant has posted a record of 115-50 (.697), including 72-17 (.809) in conference tilts.
This past season, Plant was crowned the NECC Coach of the Year as she matched the program record for wins in a season (1993, 1995). She led Regis to a 23-5 record, including a flawless 18-0 conference mark, and capped the year with an NECC title and just the team's second NCAA Tournament appearance (1995).
Plant built upon the previous year's success in which the Pride went 21-6, including 18-0 in their first year in the NECC. Regis lost in the semifinal round of the conference tournament, but advanced to ECACs for the third consecutive year.
Regis went 16-12 and fell in the semifinal round of the tournament in its final year in the CCC in 2010-11. That followed a 20-10 performance and a conference title game appearance in 2009-10. Plant and the Pride showed their turnaround was not a fluke when they went 17-9 and garnered another conference tourney berth in 2008-09.
Prior to her appointment at Regis, Plant spent one year as assistant coach of the Glendale Community College women's basketball program in Glendale, Ariz., and served as a WNBA advance scout for the New York Liberty, while teaching physical education and coaching basketball and softball at Bourgade Catholic High school in Phoenix, Ariz.
Before traveling west, Plant served as an assistant coach at the University of Rhode Island in 2002-03. Plant helped the Rams advance to the Atlantic 10 Conference Championship game. Before URI, Plant worked as a basketball and video operations intern with the New York Liberty, who advanced to the WNBA Finals during the 2002 summer season. Plant served dual roles as an assistant coach and head junior varsity coach at Elmira College in Elmira, N.Y., while earning her Master's degree in Education from 2000-02.
Plant, a Gorham, Maine, native, is a graduate of the University of Southern Maine in Gorham, where she competed at the college level from 1996-2000. Her team was an NCAA Division III national finalist in 1998 and 2000. She was inducted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006, commemorating her tremendous collegiate playing career. Plant earned her B.S. in Communication and also minored in education
