BYU Cougars women's basketball

History

The BYU Cougars women's basketball team traces its roots to 1900, when a team was created at Brigham Young Academy, the precursor to BYU. Its official inaugural season was in 1972. From 1972 to 1977, the team was coached by Elaine Michaelis, during which time she simultaneously coached women's volleyball, field hockey, and softball at one point. The program found early success under coach Courtney Leishman, who took over in 1977, with the team winning five straight regular-season championships in the Intermountain Athletic Conference (IAC) from 1977–78 to 1981–82. The Cougars also made three appearances in the AIAW Tournament (1978, 1979, 1980), reaching the Sweet Sixteen in 1980. BYU made the transition to NCAA Division I and earned its first NCAA Tournament bid in the 1983–84 season. The Cougars competed in the High Country Athletic Conference (HCAC), Western Athletic Conference (WAC), and Mountain West Conference (MWC) during the years that followed, securing several conference titles. The team made notable NCAA Tournament appearances in the 1980s and 1990s, including a WAC Tournament Championship in 1993.

The most consistent period of success for the program came under head coach Jeff Judkins, who led the team from the 2001–02 season through 2021–22, becoming the winningest coach in program history. Judkins guided the Cougars to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen twice: 2002 and 2014. The team won multiple regular-season and tournament championships in both the Mountain West Conference and the West Coast Conference (WCC), which they joined in 2011. During their time in the WCC (2011–2023), BYU was a consistent contender, winning three WCC Tournament Championships (2012, 2015, 2019) and two WCC Regular Season Championships (2021, 2022). The BYU Cougars made a significant move in 2023, joining the Big 12 Conference.

As of 2025, the Cougars have been ranked in the AP poll a total of 38 times since 1977, with its highest rank at #15.

Venue

The Cougars play their home games in the Marriott Center, which is the largest basketball arena in the Big 12 Conference, with a capacity of 17,978.

Coaches

Players

The BYU women's basketball team has produced 16 All-Americans, including Tina Gunn Robison, who was the 1980 AWSF National Player of the Year. Players who have gone on to play in the WNBA include Erin Thorn, Ambrosia Anderson, and Jennifer Hamson.

Results by season

Postseason appearances

NCAA Division I

References

References

1. "Then and Now". Y Magazine.
2. (March 30, 2002). "BYU women make it to NCAA 'Sweet 16'".
3. "Cincinnati News, Sports and Things to Do {{!}} Cincinnati Enquirer".
4. "Year-by-Year and Coaching Records". BYU.
5. "Big 12 Conference Adds Four New Members". Big 12.
6. "Re-ranking all 16 Big 12 basketball arenas from worst to first". USA Today.
7. "BYU basketball: Tina Gunn Robison to be inducted into the 2017 WCC Hall of Honor Class". Deseret News.