Pizzotti and Ryckbosch Join Women's Basketball Staff
6/21/2011 12:00:00 AM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
June 21, 2011
CHICAGO - DePaul head women's basketball coach Doug Bruno announced on Tuesday that former Division I head coaches Jill Pizzotti and Lisa Ryckbosch have joined the Blue Demon staff. Pizzotti was named an assistant coach, while Ryckbosch is the program's Director of Professional, Corporate and Community Relations.
"Our DePaul program is thrilled to hire two quality former Division I head coaches in Jill Pizzotti and Lisa Ryckbosch," Bruno said. "Together they bring close to forty years of total women's basketball coaching experience in addition to 19 years of Division I head coaching experience."
"Both Lisa and Jill will play vital roles as we continue to work to move our DePaul program up the women's basketball food chain and I am thrilled to have them both as coaching teammates."
Pizzotti, a Lombard, Ill. native, returns home with nearly two decades of experience in women's basketball - as a head coach, assistant coach, student-athlete and also in the women's basketball division at Nike. Pizzotti will serve as the Blue Demons' recruiting coordinator while she will also assist with the day-to-day operations of the basketball office.
"Jill has had major impact on every Division I program that she has served as either an assistant or head coach," Bruno added. "Going head-to-head with Jill's Saint Louis program was a monumental task for every coach in the first ten years of Conference USA."
Most recently, Pizzotti spent the 2010-11 season at West Virginia and helped the Mountaineers to a school-best, 24-10 record and to the NCAA Tournament. As the recruiting coordinator she helped WVU to the 13th best recruiting class in the nation. Pizzotti joined the Mountaineer staff in 2010 after serving the previous five years as the manager for women's basketball at Nike.
Beginning in 2005, Pizzotti was the liaison between Nike and 90 percent of the top 25 women's basketball programs, the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) and USA Basketball.
Prior to joining Nike, Pizzotti was the second-winningest women's basketball coach in Saint Louis University history and guided the program to its first-ever postseason tournament appearance in the 2003 WNIT. Pizzotti was at the helm of the Billiken program from 1996-05 where she recorded double-digit wins in seven consecutive seasons. She tutored nine all-conference performers as well as the C-USA Freshman of the Year in 1996.
Pizzotti's team won the C-USA Academic Achievement Award for the highest GPA in five seasons while over 50 student-athletes were named to the C-USA Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll. Her 2001 team was ranked No. 8 in the country in the WBCA Team Academic Poll while her 1999 team ranked No. 23. During her tenure at SLU, 10 of her student-athlete were named Arthur Ashe Scholar-Athlete Award winners.
Pizzotti also made coaching stops at Indiana University as an assistant coach from 1992-95. She was also an assistant at Northern Kentucky (1991-92) and her alma mater Southeast Missouri State from 1989-91.
 Lisa Ryckbosch joins the DePaul women's basketball staff as the is the program's Director of Professional, Corporate and Community Relations.  | |
Ryckbosch moves from Chicago's Southside to the Northside and will serve as the program's liaison to members of the University community and Chicago's corporate community while also handling the program's relationships with professional basketball franchises in the United States and overseas.
"Lisa's DePaul record, as an assistant and associate head coach speaks for itself. She was instrumental in the recruitment of eight tournament teams in her 11 years as well laying the groundwork for the recruitment of the players that helped DePaul to our first Sweet Sixteen in 2006."
Ryckbosch, who served on the Blue Demon staff from 1991-2002, returns to Lincoln Park after spending the last nine seasons at University of Illinois-Chicago as that program's head women's basketball coach. Ryckbosch posted 128 wins and left UIC as the program's all-time winningest coach and the only head coach in the program's history to reach the 100-win plateau.
While on the Southside she helped the Flames to their first postseason appearance in the 2007 WNIT. Her 2006-07 team set a school record for wins with 19 which included a stretch of 11 straight.
At UIC, Ryckbosch tutored 25 All-Horizon League performers while she graduated 88 percent of her student-athletes that completed their eligibility. Ryckbosch also served as an assistant coach at UIC during the 1990-91 season.
Prior to taking the head coaching position at UIC, Ryckbosch served as the associate head coach at DePaul during the 2001-02 season and was an assistant coach from 1991-2001. During Ryckbosch's first stint with the Blue Demons she served as the recruiting coordinator and helped the program to eight postseason appearances, including five NCAA Tournaments and three Conference Championships. Ryckbosch helped sign the eighth best recruiting class in 1997, while DePaul's 2001 class ranked 19th in the country.
Prior to moving to the collegiate level, Ryckbosch taught mathematics at Hillcrest High School in Country Club Hills and also served as the head varsity girl's basketball coach.
Pizzotti fills the position vacated by Nicci Hays Fort, who was named the head women's basketball coach at Colgate in May. Ryckbosch's position is new to the women's basketball program.