Cindy Russo

Last updated
Cindy Russo
Biographical details
Born (1952-09-07) September 7, 1952 (age 71)
Portsmouth, Virginia
Playing career
1972–1975 Old Dominion
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1975–1977Old Dominion (asst.)
1977–1978 FIU
1978–1980 Lamar
1980–2015FIU
Head coaching record
Overall707–408 (.634)

Cindy Russo (born September 7, 1952) served as the women's basketball head coach at Florida International and Lamar. Retiring in January 2015, [1] [2] her career spanned 39 years with 38 of those years as a head coach. She had several accomplishments over her career. She guided the FIU Panthers to 20 consecutive winning seasons. Her teams also achieved 20 win seasons 18 times. Her teams participated in six NCAA Division I women's basketball tournaments, seven WNIT tournaments, and two NCAA Division II Tournaments. [3]

Contents

Russo was born in Portsmouth, Virginia and graduated from Old Dominion University in 1975. [4]

Head coaching record

Statistics overview
SeasonTeamOverallConferenceStandingPostseason
FIU Golden Panthers (AIAW independent)(1977–1978)
1977–78FIU 8–14
Lamar Lady Cardinals [5] (AIAW Independent)(1978–1980)
1978–79Lamar 16–11
1979–80Lamar 20–11
FIU Golden Panthers [6] (AIAW Independent)(1980–1982)
1980–81FIU 7–13
1981–82FIU 27–10AIAW Small College First Round [7]
FIU Golden Panthers [6] (NCAA Division II independent)(1982–1987)
1982–83FIU 17–7NCAA D-II First Round [7]
1983–84FIU 17–11
1984–85FIU 22–6
1985–86FIU 26–2NCAA D-II First Round [7]
1986–87FIU 21–7NCAA D-II Second Round [7]
FIU Golden Panthers [8] (New South Women's Athletic Conference/Trans America Athletic Conference [9] )(1987–1998)
1987–88FIU 21–79–32nd
1988–89FIU 20–711–11st
1989–90FIU 20–910–2T–1st
1990–91FIU 16–137–53rd
1991–92FIU 23–1010–2T–1stWNIT Consolation [7]
1992–93FIU 25–612–01stWNIT Third Place [7]
1993–94FIU 25–411–11st NCAA D-I First Round
1994–95FIU 27–515–11st NCAA D-I Second Round
1995–96FIU 23–516–01st
1996–97FIU 21–912–41st NCAA D-I First Round
1997–98FIU 29–215–11st NCAA D-I Second Round
FIU Golden Panthers [6] [10] (Sun Belt Conference)(1998–2013)
1998–99FIU 23–79–32nd NCAA D-I First Round
1999–2000FIU 16–1310–6T–3rd
2000–01FIU 20–1011–52nd (East)WNIT First Round [7]
2001–02FIU 27–613–11st (East) NCAA D-I Second Round
2002–03FIU 19–119–5T–2nd (East)WNIT First Round [7]
2003–04FIU 0–16*0–9*
2004–05FIU 18–117–74th (East)
2005–06FIU 19–139–53rd (East)WNIT Second Round [7]
2006–07FIU 16–149–93rd (East)
2007–08FIU 13–188–104th (East)
2008–09FIU 6–244–146th (East)
2009–10FIU 14–169–9T–4th (East)
2010–11FIU 16–1610–62nd (East)
2011–12FIU 23–1110–63rd (East) WNIT Second Round
2012–13FIU 19–1312–83rd (East) WNIT First Round
FIU Panthers [6] (Conference USA)(2013–2015)
2013–14FIU 15–186–10T–9th [11]
2014–15 FIU 3–13**0–5**
Total:707–395 (.642)

      National champion        Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion        Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion      Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

* 2003–04 wins vacated by the NCAA; FIU originally finished 4th in the East Division.
** Partial season. Coach Russo resigned effective immediately on January 22, 2015. Interim head coach completed the season. Inge Nissen became interim head coach and went 0–13 (all in C-USA), for the team to finish 3–26 (0–18 C-USA) and in 14th place. [12]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns</span> University of Louisiana-Lafayette athletic teams

The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns are the athletic teams of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. The college has been competing athletically since 1901. The Ragin' Cajuns compete in NCAA Division I, fielding 16 varsity teams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Florida Atlantic Owls</span> Intercollegiate sports teams of Florida Atlantic University

The Florida Atlantic Owls are the athletics teams of Florida Atlantic University. The Owls participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)'s Division I as members of the American Athletic Conference. On October 21, 2021, Florida Atlantic accepted the invitation to join The American and became a full member on July 1, 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lamar Cardinals and Lady Cardinals</span> Texas college athletics team

The Lamar Cardinals and Lady Cardinals refers to the college athletics teams of Lamar University, in Beaumont, Texas. The Cardinals and Lady Cardinals teams compete in seventeen NCAA Division I sports as a member of the Southland Conference. The Cardinals rejoined the Southland after spending the 2021–22 athletic year in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacksonville Dolphins</span> Athletic teams representing Jacksonville University

The Jacksonville Dolphins are the intercollegiate athletics teams that represent Jacksonville University, located in Jacksonville, Florida. The Dolphins participate in NCAA Division I athletics, and are primarily members of the ASUN Conference. Some teams in sports that are not sponsored by the ASUN play in other conferences; specifically, the men's and women's rowing teams are in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. The men's lacrosse team had played in the Southern Conference (SoCon) from 2015 to 2022, but that sport will return to the ASUN for the 2023 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UCF Knights women's basketball</span> College basketball team

The UCF Knights women's basketball team represents the University of Central Florida located in Orlando, Florida in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I and the Big 12 Conference. The Knights play their home games at Addition Financial Arena located on the university's main campus. Sytia Messer was named head coach on April 3, 2022.

The Lamar Cardinals basketball team represents Lamar University in NCAA Division I men's basketball competition. The Cardinals currently play in the Southland Conference following a return from the Western Athletic Conference on July 11, 2022. They were one of four programs, all from Texas, that left the Southland Conference on July 1, 2021, to join the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). Lamar left the Southland Conference for the second time, having initially joined at the league's formation in 1963, left in 1987, and returned in 1999. After one season in the WAC, Lamar returned to the Southland Conference. The Cardinals have played home games in the Montagne Center since 1984. The Lamar University basketball team is one of the school's most storied athletic programs. The Cardinals have competed in NCAA Tournament play eleven times and six times at the NCAA Division I level with the most recent appearance in the 2012 tournament. The 1979–80 team was one of the 1980 tournament's Sweet Sixteen teams. The Cardinals have also competed in four NIT tournaments. Heading into the 2014–2015 season Lamar had a 284–143 record in the Montagne Center. The Cardinals overall record going into the 2014–2015 season was 922–818.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FIU Panthers</span> Intercollegiate sports teams of Florida International University

The FIU Panthers are the athletic teams representing Florida International University, an American public university located in Miami, Florida. The Panthers currently compete in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I athletics as members of Conference USA. The men's soccer and swimming & diving teams compete in the American Athletic Conference. Until 2011, they were known as the FIU Golden Panthers.

The Lamar Lady Cardinals basketball team represents Lamar University in NCAA Division I women's basketball competition. The team plays in the 10,080 seat Montagne Center. The Lady Cardinals currently compete at the NCAA Division I level in the Southland Conference.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Florida Ospreys men's basketball</span> College basketball team

The North Florida Ospreys represent the University of North Florida (UNF) in men's college basketball. The Ospreys compete in the ASUN Conference (A-Sun) in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). They play home games at UNF Arena on the school's campus in Jacksonville.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FIU Panthers men's basketball</span> Mens college basketball team

The FIU Panthers men's basketball team represents Florida International University in Westchester, Florida. The school's team currently competes in Conference USA. They are led by head coach Jeremy Ballard and play their home games at the Ocean Bank Convocation Center.

Elizabeth Dieter Torina is an American softball coach and former pitcher who is the current head coach at LSU.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FIU Panthers women's basketball</span> College basketball team

The FIU Panthers women's basketball team represents Florida International University in women's basketball. The school competes in Conference USA in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The Panthers play home basketball games at Ocean Bank Convocation Center in Westchester, Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FIU Panthers men's soccer</span> American college soccer team

The FIU Panthers men's soccer team is an intercollegiate varsity sports team of Florida International University. As of the upcoming 2022 season, the team is a member of the NCAA Division I American Athletic Conference.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2013–14 NCAA Division I women's basketball season</span> American college basketball season

The 2013–14 NCAA Division I women's basketball season began in November and ended with the Final Four in Nashville, Tennessee April 6–8.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014–15 NCAA Division I women's basketball season</span> American college basketball season

The 2014–15 NCAA Division I women's basketball season began in November and ended with the Final Four in Tampa, Florida, April 5–7. Practices officially began on October 3.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014–15 FIU Panthers women's basketball team</span> Intercollegiate basketball season

The 2014–15 FIU Panthers women's basketball team represents Florida International University during the 2014–15 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Panthers, led by thirty-fifth year head coach Cindy Russo, play their home games at FIU Arena, and were members of Conference USA. They finished the season 3–26, 0–18 in C-USA play to finish in last place. They failed to qualify for the Conference USA women's tournament.

Inge Nissen is a Danish basketball player and coach. A 2012 inductee to the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame, Nissen was a star for the Danish national team and a college All-American at Old Dominion University. After her playing career, Nissen became an assistant coach for long-time Florida International University coach Cindy Russo and was named interim head coach when Russo retired during the 2014–15 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015–16 FIU Panthers women's basketball team</span> Intercollegiate basketball season

The 2015–16 FIU Panthers women's basketball team represents Florida International University during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Panthers, led by first year head coach Marlin Chinn, play their home games at FIU Arena, and were members of Conference USA. They finished the season 5–26, 5–16 in C-USA play to finish in last place. They advanced to the second round of the C-USA women's tournament to Marshall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian Boyer</span> American college basketball coach

Brian Boyer is a former American college basketball coach.

The 2018–19 Conference USA men's basketball season began with practices in October 2018, followed by the start of the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November. Conference play began in late December and concluded in early March.

References

  1. ↑ David J. Neale (January 22, 2015). "Longtime FIU women's basketball coach Cindy Russo retires". Miami Herald. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
  2. ↑ Tim Reynolds (Associated Press) (January 22, 2015). "Cindy Russo resigns as FIU coach". ESPN. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  3. ↑ "Cindy Russo - Head Coach". Florida International University. Archived from the original on 2016-06-09.
  4. ↑ "Cindy Russo". FIU. 2011. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
  5. ↑ "2012–13 Women's Basketball Information Guide" (PDF). Lamar Athletics. p. 80. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "2015–16 Women's Basketball" (PDF). Conference USA. pp. 15–18. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "All-time postseason results" (PDF). 2014-15 FIU Women's Basketball Media Guide. Florida International University. pp. 59–60.
  8. ↑ "Yearly Standings" (PDF). 2014–15 Atlantic Sun Conference Women's Basketball Record Book. Atlantic Sun Conference. pp. 5–6. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
  9. ↑ "Division I Conference Champions Season-by-Season" (PDF). 2003 Women's Basketball Records Book. NCAA. p. 174. Note: From 1986–91, the conference operated as the New South Women's Athletic Conference before merging with the TAAC in 1992. Known as the Trans America Athletic Conference from 1992 to 2001
  10. ↑ "2015–16 Sun Belt Conference Women's Basketball Guide". Sun Belt Conference. pp. 70–73. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
  11. ↑ "C-USA Standings - 2013-14". ESPN. Retrieved June 7, 2016.
  12. ↑ "FIU" (PDF). 2015-16 Women's Basketball. Conference USA. 2015. p. 18. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-03-16.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.