July 2, 2001
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - Shawn Campbell, long considered one of the premier assistant coaches in the nation, has been named the new head women's basketball coach at Western Kentucky University. Campbell's appointment was announced by WKU athletics director Dr. Wood Selig at a news conference Monday afternoon at E.A. Diddle Arena.
Campbell, 42, is only the third head coach in the last two decades for Western, taking over a program which ranks 10th on the NCAA's all-time wins list with 615 victories. He replaces Steve Small, who announced his retirement June 4 after four seasons as the Lady Toppers' head coach.
"I've known and worked with Shawn for over a decade," Selig said. "There's no one in the country who is ever going to outwork him. He's an outstanding recruiter, a fantastic bench coach and a dynamic leader.
"We aspire to be one of the premier women's basketball programs in the country. Shawn quickly emerged as an individual who possessed all the qualities and attributes necessary to accomplish our objective."
"This is a dream job for me,with all of the traditions that are already in place and coming to a community that is so knowledgeable about women's basketball," said Campbell. "It's an exhilarating time in my life.
"Bowling Green, Ky., is one of the best communities in the nation for women's basketball," he added. "The respect I have for the women's basketball fans in the state of Kentucky and the women's basketball fans at Western Kentucky is indescribable. One of the reasons I took this job is because this community wants and demands a winner. That's what attracted me to come here and do the best job I possibly can at Western Kentucky University."
A native of Yardville, N.J., Campbell comes to Western Kentucky after spending last season as the associate head coach at Temple. Working on a Owls' staff that was led by two-time U.S. Olympian Dawn Staley, Campbell helped guide TU to a 19-11 record, its first winning mark in more than a decade, and a berth in the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT). The Owls -- who saw their RPI ranking jump to 80th and their strength of schedule climb to 104th last season (a difference of 168 and 134 spots, respectively), his only season with the school -- also posted an eight-game improvement over their 1999-2000 mark and finished third in the rugged Atlantic 10 Conference.
Prior to his arrival at Temple, Campbell toiled for 15 seasons (1985-2000) as an assistant and associate head coach at the University of Virginia, serving under legendary head coach Debbie Ryan. During his tenure in Charlottesville, Va., Campbell helped guide the Cavaliers to a sterling 385-93 (.805) record, along with 15 NCAA Tournament appearances, 12 Sweet Sixteen berths, eight trips to the Elite Eight, three Final Fours visits and one spot in the NCAA championship game. In fact, in a seven-year span from 1990-96, UVa made six Elite Eight appearances and reached the Final Four three consecutive years (1990-92).
In addition, the Cavaliers also piled up a whopping 10 Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season titles with Campbell on the bench. And, Virginia notched 14 20-win seasons and two 30-win campaigns. In fact, UVa averaged 25.6 wins per season in that time, and never lost more than 10 games in any one year.
Campbell also proved to be a top-notch position coach during his stay at Virginia, working mainly with the Cavalier guards. Under his tutelage, UVa produced four Kodak All-Americans, including three-time winners Staley and Wendy Palmer, and two-time honoree Tammi Reiss. Staley went on to earn consensus National Player-of-the-Year honors in 1991 and 1992.
"My goals for this program are to take it to the highest level possible, and here at Western Kentucky, that means ultimately capturing a national championship during my tenure," Campbell said. "We obviously have some gaps and holes to plug in on this team, but I think we can do that in a relatively short amount of time."
A standout player in his own right, Campbell graduated from The College of New Jersey (formerly Trenton State College) in 1982 with a degree in health and physical education after leading his team to a top-10 ranking and its first-ever NCAA Tournament berth as a senior. In 1984, he signed on as a graduate assistant women's basketball coach at TCNJ and, a year later, he was promoted to full-time status. He subsequently completed work on a master's degree in education from the school in 1985.
Campbell is married to the former Terri Dadio of Bethlehem, Pa.
CAMPBELL'S COLLEGE ASSISTANT COACHING CAREER
Personal: Born May 31, 1959, in Yardville, N.J.Education: College of New Jersey - B.S. Health & Physical Education, 1982, M.A. Education, 1985.Marital Status: Married to Terri (Dadio) Campbell.Professional Affiliations: Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA), National Association ofCollege Directors of Athletics (NACDA), American Alliance for Health, Physical Education and Recreation.
-- WKU --
Year School Record Notes1985-86 Virginia 26-3 ACC regular season champion, NCAA First Round1986-87 Virginia 26-5 ACC regular season champion, NCAA Sweet Sixteen1987-88 Virginia 27-5 ACC regular season champion, NCAA Elite Eight1988-89 Virginia 21-10 NCAA Sweet Sixteen1989-90 Virginia 29-6 ACC tournament champion, NCAA Final Four1990-91 Virginia 31-3 ACC regular season champion, NCAA Finals1991-92 Virginia 32-2 ACC regular season & tournament champion, NCAA Final Four1992-93 Virginia 26-6 ACC regular season & tournament champion, NCAA Elite Eight1993-94 Virginia 27-5 ACC regular season champion, NCAA Sweet Sixteen1994-95 Virginia 27-5 ACC regular season champion, NCAA Elite Eight1995-96 Virginia 26-7 ACC regular season champion, NCAA Elite Eight1996-97 Virginia 23-8 NCAA Sweet Sixteen1997-98 Virginia 19-10 NCAA Second Round1998-99 Virginia 20-9 NCAA First Round1999-00 Virginia 25-9 NCAA Sweet Sixteen2000-01 Temple 19-11 WNIT First Round, First winning record in over a decadeTOTALS 16 seasons 404-104 (.795)
