OKLAHOMA CITY – OCU will honor Oklahoma women’s basketball coach Sherri Coale with the Abe Lemons/Paul Hansen Award for Sports Excellence at the annual OCU Sports Spectacular dinner and auction at 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 26 at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum.
The Abe Lemons/Paul Hansen Award recognizes an individual who significantly contributes to the growth of sports in the state. Last year’s honoree was OCU chancellor Tom J. McDaniel. Past award winners are Ron Norick, Clay Bennett, Lee Allan Smith, Dr. William Grana, Stanley Draper Jr., Bob Funk, Barry Switzer, Mick Cornett, the late Bobby Murcer, Bart Conner and Bill Self.
The OCU Sports Spectacular includes a dinner, entertainment and live and silent auctions. Proceeds benefit OCU’s 21 varsity intercollegiate sports programs and the Paul Hansen Memorial Scholarship and the Abe Lemons Endowed Athletic Scholarship. Those scholarships provide funding to OCU student-athletes who have completed their eligibility and are within one year of graduation.
The auction annually features a variety of items. The National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum is located on 1700 NE 63rd Street in Oklahoma City. Individual tickets are $100, and tables for eight are $750. Please RSVP by April 16. For ticket or sponsorship information, call (405) 208-5660 or (405) 208-5309.
“We are very excited to honor Coach Coale this year,” OCU athletic director Jim Abbott said. “She is the first female recipient of the award, and we are thrilled to have the opportunity to recognize her achievements.”
In her 15th season as head coach of the University of Oklahoma women’s basketball team, Sherri Coale is considered one of the top collegiate coaches in the nation.
Sherri Coale turned a struggling program into a national title contender in a short period of time. Since 1996, the Sooners have won six regular-season Big 12 titles, four Big 12 tournament titles and made 11 straight appearances in the NCAA tournament. Coach Coale and the 2001-02 Sooners became the first Big 12 Conference team to advance to the NCAA Final Four, appearing in the national championship game.
In 2005-06, Coale’s team had an unprecedented and historic 19-0 run through the Big 12 Conference regular-season and Big 12 Conference Tournament, winning both titles. Sherri Coale’s greatest accomplishment came in 2008-09 and 2009-10 as she led the Sooners to back-to-back NCAA Final Four appearances. A first in program history, the Sooners are one of only eight teams in NCAA history to accomplish this feat.
Sherri Coale has been recognized nationally for her achievements. Coale was the recipient of the 2011 United Nations NGO Positive Peace Award in the coaching category for her commitment to community involvement.
She served as an assistant coach on the 2001 USA Basketball Women’s Junior World Championship Team that won a bronze medal in Brno, Czech Republic, in July 2001. Coale also received accolades by being named ESPN “The Dish” Coach of the Year in 2002 and Big 12 Coach of the Year in 2000, 2001, 2006 and 2009.
One of the most respected coaches in NCAA Division I basketball, Sherri Coale served as President of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association from 2007-09.
A native of Healdton, Okla., Coale spent her collegiate career playing for Oklahoma Christian University’s basketball team where she was an academic all-American and graduated summa cum laude.
She began her head coaching career at Norman High School in Oklahoma. During her tenure, the Norman Tigers amassed a record of 147-40, including two state championships. After seven years and amazing success at the high school level, Coale accepted the top coaching position at Oklahoma in 1996.
Her goals have always been to maximize the potential of her players and team on and off the court by encouraging excellence in the classroom and service in the community.
Hansen and Lemons were men’s basketball coaches at OCU and won a combined 509 games at the university. Lemons, known for his wit, was credited with the sports quote of the century.
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