Nancy Funk
{{Short description|American basketball coach (1951–2018)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2025}}
Nancy Wickert Funk (April 27, 1951 – February 6, 2018) was an American basketball coach. Funk retired from Johns Hopkins in April 2017 with a record of 537–264 over 31 years as coach. At the time of her retirement, she was the winningest coach in program history and ranked eighth in NCAA Division III history in career victories.
Early life and education
Funk was born on April 27, 1951, to parents John D. Wickert and Madelyn G. Smith in Allentown, Pennsylvania. She remained in Allentown until grade three when her family moved to Philadelphia. From there, she graduated from Central Dauphin High School before enrolling in Messiah University for a degree in nursing and a minor in biology.{{cite web |title=Nancy Wickert Funk |url=https://obits.pennlive.com/obituaries/pennlive/obituary.aspx?n=nancy-wickert-funk&pid=188136647 |website=obits.pennlive.com |access-date=March 8, 2021}}
Career
Only a year after graduating, Funk left the nursing field to coach a middle school basketball team and eventually reached the collegiate level.{{cite web |last1=Doman |first1=Mary |title=Coach Nancy Funk reaches 500-win plateau |url=https://www.jhunewsletter.com/article/2007/02/coach-nancy-funk-reaches-500-win-plateau-10470 |website=jhunewsletter.com |access-date=March 8, 2021 |date=February 16, 2007}} She returned to her alma mater and spent nine years coaching their women's basketball team to a 126–89 record.{{cite web |title=Nancy Funk, women's basketball coach at Johns Hopkins for 31 years, to retire |url=https://hub.jhu.edu/2017/04/25/womens-basketball-nancy-funk-retires/ |website=hub.jhu.edu |access-date=March 8, 2021 |date=April 25, 2017}} As a result of her success, she was recruited to coach the Johns Hopkins University women's basketball team by athletic director Bob Scott.{{cite news |last1=Walker |first1=Childs |title=Hopkins mourns loss of cherished coach |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/72965103/nancy-funk/ |access-date=March 8, 2021 |publisher=The Baltimore Sun |date=February 8, 2018}} In her first year as coach in 1986, Funk's team won only four games. Within three years, she led the team to a 12–10 record, the best season they had at the time.{{cite web |last1=Phillips |first1=James |title=Nancy Funk built the JHU women's basketball program |url=https://www.pennlive.com/college-corner/2011/02/nancy_funk_built_the_jhu_women.html |website=pennlive.com |access-date=March 8, 2021 |date=February 10, 2011}} Following this, Funk guided Hopkins to .500 or above for 27 straight seasons from 1988–89 to 2014–15. Funk earned her 650th career win when the Blue Jays concluded the 2015–16 season with a 76–55 win over Washington College.{{cite web |title=NANCY FUNK |url=https://hopkinssports.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/coaches/nancy-funk/311 |website=hopkinssports.com |access-date=March 8, 2021}} She was subsequently inducted into the Blue Jays Hall of Fame in 2015.{{cite web |title=Nancy Funk Hall of Fame Bio |url=https://hopkinssports.com/honors/hall-of-fame/nancy-funk/55 |website=hopkinssports.com |access-date=March 8, 2021}} Two years later, Funk was named the Centennial Conference Coach of the Year for the second time since 2011.{{cite web |title=Funk Named Centennial Coach of the Year |url=https://hopkinssports.com/news/2017/3/1/Funk_Named_Centennial_Coach_of_the_Year.aspx |website=hopkinssports.com |access-date=March 8, 2021 |date=March 1, 2017}}
Funk retired from Johns Hopkins in April 2017 with a record of 537–264 over 31 years as coach. At the time of her retirement, she was the winningest coach in program history and ranked eighth in NCAA Division III history in career victories. Following her retirement, Funk died on February 6, 2018, due to cancer.
See also
References
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Category:Sportspeople from Allentown, Pennsylvania