Debbie Yow
{{short description|American college basketball player, college basketball coach, college athletic director}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox college coach
| name = Debbie Yow
| image =
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| current_title =
| current_team =
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| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1950|9|1|mf=y}}
| birth_place = Gibsonville, North Carolina, U.S.
| death_date =
| death_place =
| alma_mater = Elon University
| player_years1 = 1971–1974
| player_team1 = Elon
| coach_years1 = 1976–1980
| coach_team1 = Kentucky
| coach_years2 = 1981–1983
| coach_team2 = Oral Roberts
| coach_years3 = 1983–1985
| coach_team3 = Florida
| admin_years1 = 1990–1994
| admin_team1 = Saint Louis
| admin_years2 = 1994–2010
| admin_team2 = Maryland
| admin_years3 = 2010–2019
| admin_team3 = NC State
| overall_record = {{winpct|160|69|record=y}}
| bowl_record =
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| championships =
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}}
Deborah Ann Yow{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1998/03/01/at-maryland-yow-pays-bills-incurs-costs/f577d1a9-25b6-49a0-aaa3-f2b73ca83779/|title=At Maryland, Yow pays bills, incurs costs|newspaper=Washington Post|date=March 1, 1998|author=Brubaker, Bill|access-date=February 14, 2017}} (born September 1, 1950[https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19910616/1289416/debbie-yow-is-stirring-st-louis-university Debbie Yow Is Stirring St. Louis University], The Seattle Times, June 16, 1991, retrieved June 26, 2010.) is an American college sports administrator and former college basketball coach. She was the director of athletics at North Carolina State University,[https://archive.today/20120904134641/http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/06/25/550756/yow-confirms-she-will-be-new-pack.html News & Observer: Yow confirms she will be new Pack AD] and held the same position at the University of Maryland and Saint Louis University. She previously served as the head coach of the women's basketball teams of the University of Kentucky, Oral Roberts University, and the University of Florida.
Early life
A native of Gibsonville, North Carolina, Yow attended East Carolina University but later dropped out. She then attended Elon University, where she played basketball and studied English. In 1987, Yow earned a master's degree from Liberty University in counseling.{{Cite web|url=https://www.liberty.edu/news/index.cfm?PID=18495&MID=20244|title = Alumna named NC State athletic director » Liberty News|date = 6 July 2010}}{{Cite web|url=https://247sports.com/college/north-carolina-state/Article/RELEASE-NC-State-Names-Deborah-Yow-AD-104718468/|title = RELEASE: NC State Names Deborah Yow AD}} Yow married and later divorced Lynn Nance, a collegiate men's basketball coach. In 1983, Yow married Dr. William Bowden, a university administrator, while she was coaching at Oral Roberts University.
Women's basketball coach
Yow coached women's basketball at the University of Kentucky and Oral Roberts University, and also served as the women's basketball coach at the University of Florida where she took these three previously unranked teams into the top 20 national rankings. On January 10, 1985, she and the Gators won Yow's 150th career victory.[http://www.gatorzone.com/basketball/women/media/2007/pdf/history/FloridaHistory.pdf History] (PDF), 2007-2008 Women's Basketball Media Guide, p. 94–95, University of Florida, 2007. After that season, Yow accepted a promotion in Gator athletics as an administrator and fundraiser. She averaged 20 wins per season over eight years as a head coach.
Athletic director
=Saint Louis=
After coaching, Yow also served as an associate athletic director at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro. Saint Louis University hired Yow as its athletic director in August 1990. The media reported a strained relationship between her and the men's basketball coach Rich Grawer, which Yow denied. She fired Grawer after a 5–23 season and hired Charlie Spoonhour as his replacement.[https://archive.today/20120717112307/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/baltsun/access/49566898.html?dids=49566898:49566898&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Dec+01,+1996&author=Paul+McMullen&pub=The+Sun&desc=UM's+Yow+knows+how+to+pick+winner;+Hiring+of+Spoonhour+at+Saint+Louis+proved+to+be+inspired+move&pqatl=google UM's Yow knows how to pick winner; Hiring of Spoonhour at Saint Louis proved to be inspired move], The Sun, December 1, 1996. Spoonhour won the Henry Iba Coach of the Year Award for leading Saint Louis to the NCAA Tournament in the 1993–94 season and received a pay raise and contract extension through 2000.[http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=SL&p_theme=sl&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB04E832D34C389&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM SLU OFFERS SPOONHOUR CONTRACT THROUGH 2000], St. Louis Post-Dispatch, March 27, 1994. Yow remained at Saint Louis University for four years, until hired to the same position at the University of Maryland in August 1994.[http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=SL&p_theme=sl&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB04EB076CEB280&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM DEBBIE YOW PARTS ON BITTERSWEET NOTE], St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 16, 1994.
=Maryland=
At Maryland, Yow became the first female athletic director at any Atlantic Coast Conference school.[https://web.archive.org/web/20121102180824/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/orlandosentinel/access/77854976.html?dids=77854976:77854976&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Aug+16,+1994&author=Associated+Press&pub=Orlando+Sentinel&desc=YOW+IS+1ST+WOMAN+AD+IN+THE+ACC+DEBBIE+YOW+AGREED+TO+A+5-YEAR+DEAL+TO+BE+ATHLETIC+DIRECTOR+AT+MARYLAND.&pqatl=google YOW IS 1ST WOMAN AD IN THE ACC DEBBIE YOW AGREED TO A 5-YEAR DEAL TO BE ATHLETIC DIRECTOR AT MARYLAND.], Orlando Sentinel, August 16, 1994. Under Yow, the Maryland athletics department balanced its annual budgets, which had not been done in the previous decade and the department's debt was reduced from $51 million to $5.6 million.[http://umterps.cstv.com/school-bio/md-athdir.html On Campus - Deborah A. Yow - Director of Athletics], University of Maryland Terrapins Athletics official website, accessed 6 December 2008. From 1994 to 2010, the school's athletic teams captured twenty national championships. Seventeen were in women's sports: women's lacrosse (8), field hockey (4), competitive cheer (4), and women's basketball (1). Three championships were claimed by two men's teams. Maryland men's basketball secured the 2002 title and men's soccer captured the 2005 and 2008 College Cups.[http://www.umterps.com/genrel/md-national-championships.html National Championships] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120503095442/http://www.umterps.com/genrel/md-national-championships.html |date=2012-05-03 }}, University of Maryland, retrieved June 25, 2010. U.S. News & World Report and Sports Illustrated ranked the Maryland athletics program in the nation's top 20 during Yow's tenure.[https://web.archive.org/web/20090906010636/http://www.msa.md.gov/msa/educ/exhibits/womenshall/html/yow.html Deborah A. Yow], Maryland Women's Hall of Fame, Maryland State Archives, 2003, retrieved 24 January 2009.[http://www.msa.md.gov/megafile/msa/speccol/sc3500/sc3520/014000/014067/html/14067bio.html Biographical Series: Deborah A. Yow] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220124171441/https://www.msa.md.gov/megafile/msa/speccol/sc3500/sc3520/014000/014067/html/14067bio.html |date=2022-01-24 }}, Archives of Maryland, February 16, 2010, retrieved June 25, 2010. In 2008, her salary was $365,925.00 according to public records.[http://media.collegepublisher.com/media/paper873/documents/n1ni39k3.pdf Salary Guide 2008] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708175904/http://media.collegepublisher.com/media/paper873/documents/n1ni39k3.pdf |date=2011-07-08 }} (PDF), The Diamondback, 5 January 2008, retrieved 24 January 2009.
Yow reportedly had a rocky relationship with Maryland men's basketball coach Gary Williams.Mike Wise, [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/20/AR2009032003156.html Two Sides To One Program], The Washington Post, p. E1, March 21, 2009. In January 2009, the basketball team struggled early in its season, which led to Williams publicly trading barbs about recruiting with associate athletic director Kathy Worthington.[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/27/AR2009012703611.html U-Md. Officials Rebut Williams on Recruits], The Washington Post, January 22, 2009. Accessed 2009-07-18. [https://web.archive.org/web/20121108134129/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/27/AR2009012703611.html Archived] 2009-07-23.[http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/college/basketball/mens/bal-te.sp.terpshoop12mar12,0,362459.story Terps fans thankful for Gary Williams' past, concerned about present]{{Dead link|date=January 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, The Baltimore Sun, March 12, 2009. In February, Yow issued a statement of support for Williams.[https://web.archive.org/web/20121011132523/http://voices.washingtonpost.com/terrapins-insider/2009/02/yow_williams_in_no_danger.html Yow: Williams in no danger], The Washington Post, February 2, 2009. During the 2009 row, John Feinstein wrote in The Washington Post, "Debbie Yow didn't hire Gary Williams. She can't take any credit for the program he built nor should she take any of the blame for its recent struggles."John Feinstein, [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/28/AR2009012803320.html The Turtle Has Itself to Fear], The Washington Post, January 29, 2009. He added, "Does [Williams] get along with Debbie Yow? No, everyone knows that..."John Feinstein, [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2009/01/30/DI2009013003105.html Maryland Men's Basketball], The Washington Post, February 4, 2009.
=North Carolina State=
On June 25, 2010, Yow accepted the job as athletic director at North Carolina State University.Jeff Barker, [http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/college/maryland_terps/blog/2010/06/its_official_yow_is_leaving.html It's Official: Yow is leaving] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100810040101/http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/college/maryland_terps/blog/2010/06/its_official_yow_is_leaving.html |date=2010-08-10 }}, The Baltimore Sun, June 25, 2010. She was awarded a five-year contract with a $350,000 annual salary with a supplemental income of $100,000.Patrick Stevens, [http://d1scourse.typepad.com/blog/2010/06/yow-signs-fiveyear-deal-at-nc-state.html Yow signs five-year deal at NC State], D1Scourse, June 25, 2010.
After the 2010–11 basketball season, Sidney Lowe resigned as Wolfpack coach after failing to make the NCAA tournament in his five seasons as coach.{{cite news|title=Lowe resigns as NC State basketball coach|url=http://www.latimes.com/sports/sns-sn-ncaa-nc-lowe-resigns-031511,0,518672.story|access-date=6 April 2011|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=16 March 2011}}{{dead link|date=June 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} In early April 2011, Yow hired former Alabama coach Mark Gottfried as the new coach.{{cite news|last=Wiseman|first=Steve|title=Gottfried will be leader of the Pack|url=http://www.heraldsun.com/view/full_story/12643470/article-Gottfried-will-be-leader-of-the-Pack?instance=homefifthleft|access-date=6 April 2011|newspaper=The Herald-Sun|date=6 April 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110411202303/http://www.heraldsun.com/view/full_story/12643470/article-Gottfried-will-be-leader-of-the-Pack?instance=homefifthleft|archive-date=11 April 2011}} In his first season, Coach Gottfried led the Wolfpack back to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament.{{cite news|last=Killion|first=Ann|title=NC State rises higher and higher|url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/ann_killion/03/18/ncstate.sweet16/index.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120321135350/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/ann_killion/03/18/ncstate.sweet16/index.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 21, 2012|access-date=6 April 2011|newspaper=The Herald-Sun|date=6 April 2011}}
On November 25, 2012, Tom O'Brien was terminated,{{cite web |url=http://www.coacheshotseat.com/CHSNCState.pdf |title=Memorandum - Salary increase |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220807201441/http://www.coacheshotseat.com/CHSNCState.pdf |archive-date=2022-08-07 |url-status=live}} and NC State was obligated to pay $1.2 million of non-state funds to O'Brien as his contract ran through the 2015 season.{{Cite web |url=http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/11/25/3687486/tom-obrien-ousted-at-nc-state.html |title=Tom O'Brien ousted at N.C. State |website=charlotteobserver.com |author=J.P. Giglio |date=November 25, 2012 |access-date=2013-01-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121126104236/http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/11/25/3687486/tom-obrien-ousted-at-nc-state.html |archive-date=2012-11-26 |url-status=dead }} However, NC State ended up only having to pay O'Brien $200,000 after the buyout was renegotiated so he could become an assistant at Virginia.{{cite web|last=Vannini|first=Chris|title=Breaking: Tom O'Brien returning to Virginia as assistant coach|url=http://coachingsearch.com/bio/2154-breaking-tom-obrien-returning-to-virginia-as-assistant-coach.html|publisher=CoachingSearch.com|access-date=January 3, 2013|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130215182623/http://coachingsearch.com/bio/2154-breaking-tom-obrien-returning-to-virginia-as-assistant-coach.html|archive-date=February 15, 2013|url-status=dead}}
On December 1, 2012, Dave Doeren was announced as the new head coach of the NC State Wolfpack football team, with an estimated total annual compensation package of $1.9 million.{{Cite web |url=http://www.rrstar.com/blogs/matttrowbridge/x1156350307/Doeren-wont-coach-in-bowl-game-NIU-hopes-to-hire-new-coach-quickly |title=Doeren won't coach in bowl game; NIU hopes to hire coach quickly - Rockford, IL - Rockford Register Star |access-date=2012-12-05 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130201130814/http://www.rrstar.com/blogs/matttrowbridge/x1156350307/Doeren-wont-coach-in-bowl-game-NIU-hopes-to-hire-new-coach-quickly |archive-date=2013-02-01 |url-status=dead }} It was the seventh change of a head coach at NC State under Yow in a little over two years. On March 17, 2017, Kevin Keatts was announced as the new head coach of the NC State Wolfpack basketball team.
Yow was named the 2019 James J. Corbett Memorial Award Recipient by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics, the highest honor one can achieve in college athletics administration.{{cite web |title=Deborah Yow Named 2019 James J. Corbett Memorial Award Recipient |url=https://nacda.com/news/2019/3/20/nacda-deborah-yow-named-2019-james-j-corbett-memorial-award-recipient.aspx?path=nacda |website=NACDA}}
Yow retired on May 1, 2019. {{Cite web|url=http://www.technicianonline.com/sports/article_a6fe64b2-24a7-11e9-be7e-037d5c1df271.html|title=NC State names Boo Corrigan to replace Yow as AD|author=Staff Report|website=Technician|language=en|access-date=2019-03-26}} Boo Corrigan took over as NC State Athletics Director on the same day.{{Cite web|url=https://247sports.com/college/north-carolina-state/Article/NC-State-names-Army-AD-Boo-Corrigan-as-New-Athletic-Director-128476256/|title = NC State names Army AD Boo Corrigan as New Athletic Director}}
Head coaching record
{{CBB Yearly Record Start | type = | conference = | postseason = | poll = }}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead
| name = Kentucky Wildcats
| conference =
| startyear = 1976
| endyear = 1980
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| season = 1976–77
| name = Kentucky
| overall = 19–7
| conference =
| confstanding =
| postseason =
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| season = 1977–78
| name = Kentucky
| overall = 23–12
| conference =
| confstanding =
| postseason =
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| season = 1978–79
| name = Kentucky
| overall = 13–16
| conference =
| confstanding =
| postseason =
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| season = 1979–80
| name = Kentucky
| overall = 24–5
| conference =
| confstanding =
| postseason =
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subtotal
| name = Kentucky
| overall = {{Winning percentage|79|40|record=y}}
| confrecord =
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead
| name = Oral Roberts Titans
| conference =
| startyear = 1981
| endyear = 1983
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| season = 1981–82
| name = Oral Roberts
| overall = 14–10
| conference =
| confstanding =
| postseason =
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| season = 1982–83
| name = Oral Roberts
| overall = 26–1
| conference =
| confstanding =
| postseason =
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subtotal
| name = Oral Roberts
| overall = {{Winning percentage|40|11|record=y}}
| confrecord =
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead
| name = Florida Gators
| conference = Southeastern Conference
| startyear = 1983
| endyear = 1985
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| season = 1983–84
| name = Florida
| overall = 19–9
| conference = 2–6
| confstanding = 5th {{Small|(East)}}
| postseason =
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| season = 1984–85
| name = Florida
| overall = 22–9
| conference = 4–4
| confstanding = T–2nd {{Small|(East)}}
| postseason =
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subtotal
| name = Florida
| overall = {{Winning percentage|41|18|record=y}}
| confrecord = {{Winning percentage|6|10|record=y}}
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record End
| overall = {{Winning percentage|160|69|record=y}}
| poll =
| polltype =
| polltype2 =
}}
Personal life
Yow's two sisters also have been employed in athletics. Kay Yow was head coach of the NC State women's basketball team,[http://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/stories/2009/01/19/daily54.html NCSU's Yow dies after long cancer fight], Triangle Business Journal, 24 January 2009. and Susan Yow became the first female All American at NC State in 1975-76. Susan went on to coach women's basketball at multiple schools, with her last stop at Queens University in Charlotte, NC before retiring.{{cite web |title=Susan Yow 2016 |url=https://www.ncshof.org/susanyow |website=North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame |access-date=2020-05-26 |archive-date=2021-10-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211004154723/https://www.ncshof.org/susanyow |url-status=dead }} Her brother, Ron, signed a football scholarship at Clemson University in 1967 and played there for two years. Her cousin, Virgil Yow, served as head basketball coach at High Point University, where he allowed the first female to play on the men's team.[http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=GB&p_theme=gb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EAF8617B1C37173&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM HOOPS PIONEER GAVE HIGHPOINT A BOOST ISENHOUR MADE HER MARK AT HIGH POINT], The News & Record, March 31, 1995. All three of the Yow sisters, along with Virgil Yow, have been inducted into the State of North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame.{{cite web |title=Susan Yow 2016 |url=https://www.ncshof.org/susanyow |website=North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame |access-date=2020-05-26 |archive-date=2021-10-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211004154723/https://www.ncshof.org/susanyow |url-status=dead }}
References
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}
External links
- [http://gopack.com/staff.aspx?staff=170 NC State profile]
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Category:American women's basketball coaches
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Category:Elon University alumni
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