Deborah Yow
Encyclopedia
Deborah A. Yow is an American college sports administrator and former college basketball
coach. She is currently the director of athletics
at North Carolina State University
, and formerly 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
.
, Yow attended East Carolina University
. She had planned to continue playing basketball, as she had in high school, but dropped out of college. She said, "I spent too much time partying, and my grades reflected it. In those days we lovingly called ourselves flower children. We were very anti-establishment. I did recreational drugs back then like everyone else. To be honest with you, I don't know anybody who didn't." Yow visited friends in California, but soon after returned to Gibsonville after she ran out of money. She then attended Elon University, where she played basketball and studied English. At the age of 22, she had an abortion. She later said it was done "at a time when there was no counseling available. No one ever explained the process or went over any of the options," and called it the worst mistake of her life. Yow married and later divorced Lynn Nance, a collegiate men's basketball coach. In 1983, Yow was re-married to Dr. William Bowden, a university administrator, while she was coaching at Oral Roberts University.
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. After that season, Yow accepted a promotion in Gator athletics as an administrator and fundraiser. She averaged 20 wins per season over 8 years as a head coach.
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. 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. Yow remained at Saint Louis University for four years, until hired to the same position at the University of Maryland
in August 1994.
school. 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 $7.6 million. 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 Cup
s. U.S. News & World Report
and Sports Illustrated
ranked the Maryland athletics program in the nation's top 20 during Yow's tenure. In 2008, her salary was $365,925.00 according to public records.
Yow reportedly had a rocky relationship with Maryland men's basketball coach Gary Williams
. 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. In February, Yow issued a statement of support for Williams. During the 2009 row, 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." He added, "Does [Williams] get along with Debbie Yow? No, everyone knows that..."
Barry Gossett, the number one donor to Maryland athletics summarized the progress in Maryland athletics during Yow's tenure, "She inherited a difficult situation when she came in as far the debt and a lot of programs that were under-performing. She was able to make some necessary changes in staff, and she has really put a new face on the athletic department. She accepted the challenge as the school improved it's rankings across the board... She has done a great job." Head women's basketball coach Brenda Frese [National Championship coach in 2006] said, "I think the biggest strength for Debbie is that from top to bottom, she knows how to run a department and allows every unit and every coaching staff member to be successful." Football coach Ralph Friedgen called Yow's accomplishments as AD at Maryland, "unprecedented."
Yow said, "There are several things that I was really glad to get done toward the end of my tenture, and one of those was nominating coach [Gary] Williams for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame..."
Mike Ashley observed, "Yow's sixteen years at the helm of the program represented the longest tenure for a Maryland athletic director since legendary Curley Byrd ran the program from 1915-1935 before coming university president."
. She was awarded a five-year contract with a $350,000 salary with a supplemental income of $100,000.
After the 2010-2011 basketball season, Sidney Lowe
resigned as Wolfpack coach after failing to make the NCAA tournament
in his five seasons as coach. In early April 2011, Yow hired former Alabama
coach Mark Gottfried
as the new coach.
was head coach of the NC State
women's basketball team, and Susan Yow is the current head coach of the Belmont Abbey Crusaders women's basketball team. 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.
College basketball
College basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....
coach. She is currently the director of athletics
Athletic director
An athletic director is an administrator at many American colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and related staff involved in intercollegiate or interscholastic athletic programs...
at North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University at Raleigh is a public, coeducational, extensive research university located in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Commonly known as NC State, the university is part of the University of North Carolina system and is a land, sea, and space grant institution...
, and formerly held the same position at the University of Maryland
University of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...
and Saint Louis University
Saint Louis University
Saint Louis University is a private, co-educational Jesuit university located in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1818 by the Most Reverend Louis Guillaume Valentin Dubourg SLU is the oldest university west of the Mississippi River. It is one of 28 member institutions of the...
. She previously served as the head coach of the women's basketball
Women's basketball
Women's basketball is one of the few women's sports that developed in tandem with its men's counterpart. It became popular, spreading from the east coast of the United States to the west coast , in large part via women's colleges...
teams of the University of Kentucky
University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky, also known as UK, is a public co-educational university and is one of the state's two land-grant universities, located in Lexington, Kentucky...
, Oral Roberts University
Oral Roberts University
Oral Roberts University , based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in the United States, is an interdenominational, Charismatic Christian, comprehensive university with an enrollment of about 3,790 students from 49 U.S. states along with a significant number of international students from 70 countries...
, and the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
.
Early life
A native of Gibsonville, North CarolinaGibsonville, North Carolina
Gibsonville is a town in Alamance and Guilford counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is part of the Greensboro-High Point, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area...
, Yow attended East Carolina University
East Carolina University
East Carolina University is a public, coeducational, engaged doctoral/research university located in Greenville, North Carolina, United States. Named East Carolina University by statute and commonly known as ECU or East Carolina, the university is the largest institution of higher learning in...
. She had planned to continue playing basketball, as she had in high school, but dropped out of college. She said, "I spent too much time partying, and my grades reflected it. In those days we lovingly called ourselves flower children. We were very anti-establishment. I did recreational drugs back then like everyone else. To be honest with you, I don't know anybody who didn't." Yow visited friends in California, but soon after returned to Gibsonville after she ran out of money. She then attended Elon University, where she played basketball and studied English. At the age of 22, she had an abortion. She later said it was done "at a time when there was no counseling available. No one ever explained the process or went over any of the options," and called it the worst mistake of her life. Yow married and later divorced Lynn Nance, a collegiate men's basketball coach. In 1983, Yow was re-married to 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 KentuckyUniversity of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky, also known as UK, is a public co-educational university and is one of the state's two land-grant universities, located in Lexington, Kentucky...
and Oral Roberts University
Oral Roberts University
Oral Roberts University , based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in the United States, is an interdenominational, Charismatic Christian, comprehensive university with an enrollment of about 3,790 students from 49 U.S. states along with a significant number of international students from 70 countries...
, and also served as the women's basketball coach at the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
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. After that season, Yow accepted a promotion in Gator athletics as an administrator and fundraiser. She averaged 20 wins per season over 8 years as a head coach.
Saint Louis
After coaching, Yow also served as an associate athletic director at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro. Saint Louis UniversitySaint Louis University
Saint Louis University is a private, co-educational Jesuit university located in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1818 by the Most Reverend Louis Guillaume Valentin Dubourg SLU is the oldest university west of the Mississippi River. It is one of 28 member institutions of the...
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
Charlie Spoonhour
Charlie Spoonhour is a retired high school and college basketball coach.Spoonhour received an education degree from the University of the Ozarks. He spent seven seasons as a high school basketball coach, then fourteen seasons bouncing between Division I assistant coaching positions and junior...
as his replacement. Spoonhour won the Henry Iba Coach of the Year Award
Henry Iba Award
The Henry Iba Award was established in 1959 to recognize the best college basketball coach of the year by the United States Basketball Writers Association . Five nominees are presented and the individual with the most votes receives the award, which is presented in conjunction with the Final Four....
for leading Saint Louis to the NCAA Tournament in the 1993–94 season and received a pay raise and contract extension through 2000. Yow remained at Saint Louis University for four years, until hired to the same position at the University of Maryland
University of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...
in August 1994.
Maryland
At Maryland, Yow became the first female athletic director at any Atlantic Coast ConferenceAtlantic Coast Conference
The Atlantic Coast Conference is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. Founded in 1953 in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC sanctions competition in twenty-five sports in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association for its twelve member universities...
school. 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 $7.6 million. From 1994 to 2010, the school's athletic teams captured twenty national championships. Seventeen were in women's sports: women's lacrosse
Maryland Terrapins women's lacrosse
The Maryland Terrapins women's lacrosse team represents the University of Maryland in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I women's college lacrosse. The Maryland has won a total of ten NCAA championships, the most of any women's lacrosse program...
(8), field hockey (4), competitive cheer (4), and women's basketball
Maryland Terrapins women's basketball
The University of Maryland women's basketball team has been a prominent program in the history of women's basketball. As a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Lady Terrapins have been regular season and tournament champions on numerous occasions. They were struggling with a losing record...
(1). Three championships were claimed by two men's teams. Maryland men's basketball
Maryland Terrapins men's basketball
The Maryland Terrapins men's basketball team represents the University of Maryland in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I competition...
secured the 2002 title
2002 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 2002 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 65 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 12, 2002, and ended with the championship game on April 1 in Atlanta, Georgia...
and men's soccer
Maryland Terrapins men's soccer
The Maryland Terrapins men's soccer team represents the University of Maryland in National Collegiate Athletic Association college soccer competition. Maryland competes as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference . The team most recently won the 2008 College Cup.- History :Maryland fielded its...
captured the 2005
2005 Division I Men's College Cup
The 2005 Division I Men's NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship was a tournament of 48 teams from NCAA Division I who played for the NCAA Championship in soccer. The College Cup for the final four teams was held at SAS Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina. All the other games were played at the...
and 2008 College Cup
2008 Division I Men's College Cup
The 2008 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship was a tournament of 48 teams from NCAA Division I who played for the NCAA Championship in soccer. The College Cup for the final four teams was held at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas. All the other games were played at the home field of the...
s. U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report is an American news magazine published from Washington, D.C. Along with Time and Newsweek it was for many years a leading news weekly, focusing more than its counterparts on political, economic, health and education stories...
and Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
ranked the Maryland athletics program in the nation's top 20 during Yow's tenure. In 2008, her salary was $365,925.00 according to public records.
Yow reportedly had a rocky relationship with Maryland men's basketball coach Gary Williams
Gary Williams
Gary B. Williams is an American university administrator and former college basketball coach. He served as the head coach at the University of Maryland, Ohio State University, Boston College, and American University. In 2002, he led Maryland to the NCAA Tournament Championship...
. In January 2009, the basketball team struggled early in its season
2008-09 Maryland Terrapins men's basketball team
The 2008–2009 Maryland Terrapins men's basketball team represented the University of Maryland in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I competition as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference . The Terrapins qualified for the NCAA tournament for just the second time since the 2003–04...
, which led to Williams publicly trading barbs about recruiting with associate athletic director Kathy Worthington. In February, Yow issued a statement of support for Williams. During the 2009 row, Feinstein wrote in The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
, "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." He added, "Does [Williams] get along with Debbie Yow? No, everyone knows that..."
Barry Gossett, the number one donor to Maryland athletics summarized the progress in Maryland athletics during Yow's tenure, "She inherited a difficult situation when she came in as far the debt and a lot of programs that were under-performing. She was able to make some necessary changes in staff, and she has really put a new face on the athletic department. She accepted the challenge as the school improved it's rankings across the board... She has done a great job." Head women's basketball coach Brenda Frese [National Championship coach in 2006] said, "I think the biggest strength for Debbie is that from top to bottom, she knows how to run a department and allows every unit and every coaching staff member to be successful." Football coach Ralph Friedgen called Yow's accomplishments as AD at Maryland, "unprecedented."
Yow said, "There are several things that I was really glad to get done toward the end of my tenture, and one of those was nominating coach [Gary] Williams for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame..."
Mike Ashley observed, "Yow's sixteen years at the helm of the program represented the longest tenure for a Maryland athletic director since legendary Curley Byrd ran the program from 1915-1935 before coming university president."
North Carolina State
On June 25, 2010, Yow accepted the job as athletic director at North Carolina State UniversityNorth Carolina State University
North Carolina State University at Raleigh is a public, coeducational, extensive research university located in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Commonly known as NC State, the university is part of the University of North Carolina system and is a land, sea, and space grant institution...
. She was awarded a five-year contract with a $350,000 salary with a supplemental income of $100,000.
After the 2010-2011 basketball season, Sidney Lowe
Sidney Lowe
Sidney Rochell Lowe is an American basketball coach and is currently an assistant coach with the Utah Jazz. He is a former NBA player and head coach, and has served as the head coach at North Carolina State University,.-Biography:Lowe began his career at DeMatha Catholic High School in...
resigned as Wolfpack coach after failing to make the NCAA tournament
NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship
The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single-elimination tournament held each spring in the United States, featuring 68 college basketball teams, to determine the national championship in the top tier of college basketball...
in his five seasons as coach. In early April 2011, Yow hired former Alabama
Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball
The Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball program has a history of being among the best of the Southeastern Conference . It trails only Kentucky in basketball wins, SEC tournament titles, and SEC regular season titles in the 12-member conference. The team is coached by head coach Anthony Grant,...
coach Mark Gottfried
Mark Gottfried
Mark Frederick Gottfried is an American men's college basketball coach and former player. He was named head coach of NC State on April 5, 2011....
as the new coach.
Personal life
Her two sisters also have been employed in athletics. Kay YowKay Yow
Sandra Kay Yow was an American basketball coach. She was the head coach of the NC State Wolfpack women's basketball team from 1975 to 2009. A member of the Naismith Hall of Fame, she had more than 700 career wins. She also coached the U.S...
was head coach of the NC State
NC State Wolfpack
The athletic teams of the North Carolina State University, known as the Wolfpack, compete in 24 intercollegiate varsity sports. NC State is a founding member of the Atlantic Coast Conference and has won eight national championships: two NCAA championships, two AIAW championships, and four titles...
women's basketball team, and Susan Yow is the current head coach of the Belmont Abbey Crusaders women's basketball team. Her cousin, Virgil Yow, served as head basketball coach at High Point University
High Point University
High Point University is a private liberal arts university in High Point, North Carolina, USA, affiliated with the United Methodist Church.- Beginnings :...
, where he allowed the first female to play on the men's team.