
DePaul Head Coach Doug Bruno to Miss Season Opener
11/4/2024 3:13:00 PM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
CHICAGO – DePaul Vice President and Director of Athletics, DeWayne Peevy, announced today that women's basketball head coach Doug Bruno will miss Wednesday's season opener to focus on his health following a medical complication. Associate Head Coach Jill M. Pizzotti will serve as interim head coach in his absence. The University and the Athletics department asks everyone to respect the Bruno family's privacy during this time.
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"Coach Bruno is a strong, dedicated and caring leader for our women's basketball program" said Vice President and Director of Athletics DeWayne Peevy. "Anyone who knows Coach knows how difficult a decision this was; however, his health and recovery remain all of our top priority. We are hopeful he can return in time for BIG EAST play, but we are grateful to Coach Pizzotti for helping guide our women's basketball team in the interim."
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Pizzotti enters her 14th season on the Blue Demons staff and 11th as Associate Head Coach and Recruiting Coordinator. Prior to joining DePaul in 2011, the Lombard, Illinois native held assistant coach roles at West Virginia, Indiana, Northern Kentucky and her alma mater Southeast Missouri. She served as the manager of women's college basketball at Nike, Inc. for five years and before that spent 10 years as head coach at Saint Louis.
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First hired in 1976, Bruno has served as the women's basketball head coach for 38 seasons where he has amassed 786 career wins at the helm of his alma mater, ranking in the top-10 among all active career Division I women's basketball coaches. During his tenure, DePaul has qualified for 26 NCAA Tournaments and advanced to four sweet sixteens. Coach Bruno was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2022.
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"Coach Bruno is a strong, dedicated and caring leader for our women's basketball program" said Vice President and Director of Athletics DeWayne Peevy. "Anyone who knows Coach knows how difficult a decision this was; however, his health and recovery remain all of our top priority. We are hopeful he can return in time for BIG EAST play, but we are grateful to Coach Pizzotti for helping guide our women's basketball team in the interim."
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Pizzotti enters her 14th season on the Blue Demons staff and 11th as Associate Head Coach and Recruiting Coordinator. Prior to joining DePaul in 2011, the Lombard, Illinois native held assistant coach roles at West Virginia, Indiana, Northern Kentucky and her alma mater Southeast Missouri. She served as the manager of women's college basketball at Nike, Inc. for five years and before that spent 10 years as head coach at Saint Louis.
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First hired in 1976, Bruno has served as the women's basketball head coach for 38 seasons where he has amassed 786 career wins at the helm of his alma mater, ranking in the top-10 among all active career Division I women's basketball coaches. During his tenure, DePaul has qualified for 26 NCAA Tournaments and advanced to four sweet sixteens. Coach Bruno was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2022.
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Demon Docs: Welcome Head Coach Jill M. Pizzotti
Tuesday, April 29
Episode 19: Jill M. Pizzotti, Women's Basketball Head Coach
Wednesday, April 16
Jill M. Pizzotti Introductory Press Conference
Tuesday, April 15
DePaul Women's Basketball: Jill Pizzotti Introductory Press Conference
Thursday, April 10