by Brandon Call
Daily Lobo
The UNM women's basketball team wasn't always the dominant squad it is today.
In 1995, Don Flanagan inherited a struggling Lobo program that was 14-96 in the four previous seasons.
"There were no T-shirts that said UNM women's basketball in the school store," Flanagan said. "Nobody knew we had a program. They averaged 200 fans in a building that seats 18,000."
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Flanagan said the women's basketball program's turnaround was no easy task.
"If you asked me to do it again, I don't know if I could," he said. "Originally, the main thing I had to change was their attitude. I had to change their physical conditioning and make my practices more strenuous. I really had to get them to understand to be confident in themselves and their abilities."
Flanagan had an immediate impact on the program and finished his first season 14-15, the best record of any first-year head coach in school history.
He also led the Lobos to the championship game of the Western Athletic Conference Tournament, a feat never before accomplished by a first-year coach.
The following season, UNM improved to 18-10, the second-best record for a women's basketball team in the program's 19-year
history.
By the following year, Flanagan led his team to 26 wins, destroying the previous school record of 19 wins set during the 1978 season.
Flanagan led the team into the 1997 WAC Tournament as the
No. 4 seed and came away with its first conference championship. It was the first time in the tournament's history that a team other than a
No. 1 or No. 2 seed came away with the trophy. The Flanagan-led Lobos were rewarded with their first trip to the NCAA Tournament.
"To take a program that was honestly maybe one of the worst teams in America and to get it to where we were one of the better teams, it was very exciting," he said. "We went to Virginia, and the kids were really excited."
Flanagan said a large part of the program's success has been fan support.
"In my second year, I used to send our team up each isle after every game so that they could personally thank everyone in attendance," he said. "In about the third year, they never came back, because fans were grabbing them, taking pictures with them and asking for autographs. So, obviously, I couldn't do that anymore. But now, for almost every conference game, we're over 10,000 fans, and to me, I'm still appreciating the support."
Fast-forward a decade to his 13th season with the Lobos: Flanagan's contributions to the program are immeasurable.
His .699 career winning percentage ranks in the top 25 in the country among active coaches - right up there with big names like Tennessee's Pat Summitt, UConn's Geno Auriemma and LSU's Van Chancellor.
Under his direction, the Lobos have notched 11 consecutive winning seasons, 10 straight postseason appearances, seven trips to the NCAA Tournament and five conference tournament championships, including four in row in the Mountain West Conference.
And 2007 should be no different, Flanagan said.
"I'm excited about this season," he said. "Although we're young, we're excited and energetic, we have the tradition, so our expectation is that we are going to do
the same."
Senior forward Dionne Marsh, who is entering her fourth season playing under Flanagan, said the pressure to continue the Lobos' winning ways inspires this
year's team.
"Flanagan expects a lot out of us as a team," she said. "Every year, he stresses hard work, dedication and just giving your best effort. With that, this year is really no different than the last, and we look forward to a strong season and hopefully another postseason."
