Feb. 15, 2010

The timing could not have been better for Kathy O'Neil and her University of Massachusetts Lowell women's basketball team.

Just prior to tipoff of last weekend's game against Northeast-10 rival Stonehill, friends and former players announced the formation of the Kathy O'Neil Endowment Fund, to celebrate her 25 years at the helm of the program.

So how did O'Neil say thank you? By helping to guide the River Hawks past Stonehill, 80-69, for her 400th career victory.

"What a wonderful tribute, not meant for me alone, but for the program,'' said O'Neil. "It says a lot about what this women's basketball program means to these people. To be able to establish this fund, especially in this type of economic climate, was probably not the easiest thing to do. It's a great honor, to be sure, but a program honor.''

Jennifer Morrison of Ipswich, who played for O'Neil in the early 1990s, chaired the committee that established the fund, which exceeded its initial goal of $25,000.

"Kathy O'Neil is a coach, mentor, and friend,'' said Morrison. "We organized the Kathy O'Neil Endowment Fund in order to honor this remarkable woman and her 25 years of leadership and dedicated service to UMass Lowell. It was the least we could do to show our appreciation toward Kathy and her commitment to the growth and development of her players.''

A quarter-century of coaching, especially at the same school, is rare these days, and even O'Neil admits it's a bit of a surprise that she has hung in for so long.

"I never thought that far ahead,'' she said, "but 25 years is a long time. I didn't look at this job as a stopover for bigger things. I just decided I would work as hard as I could, and where I end up I end up. I have certainly enjoyed my stay here. I love the university, the city, and the program.''

The Laconia, N.H., native has been presented with opportunities to move on in the past but has stayed committed to UMass Lowell.

"Like any young and successful coach, she had some Division 1 options,'' said Dana Skinner, director of athletics at the university. "We had transitioned well from the New England Collegiate Conference to the Northeast-10 Conference and she was coming off a terrific run. Opportunities were there for her, but for whatever reason, she remained here. Her longevity here has served the athletics department and the commmunity well. Her student-athletes are among the most involved in the community.''

As successful as O'Neil's career has been, it didn't start out with a bang. Her first team, in 1985-86, lost 11 games before winning its first. And then Lowell dropped its last 13 to finish 1-24.

"I have to say it wasn't the way I wanted to start my coaching career,'' O'Neil said. "But I learned a lot from that team. It taught me a great deal about coaching and about myself. It wasn't the most talented team, but it worked hard. I loved that team.''

O'Neil's second team started 0-6, running its losing streak to 19 games before turning things around and finishing 11-16 overall.

After that, her teams began to dominate the NECC and then became highly competitive in the Northeast-10, which perennially boasts a handful of nationally ranked teams.

In the past 19 years, O'Neil has coached UMass to eight NCAA tournament appearances. Before landing at UMass, O'Neil served one year as a graduate basketball assistant at her alma mater, St. Michael's, and was the head field hockey coach for three seasons.

A member of the college's athletic Hall of Fame, she still owns a number of records, including points in a game (36), single-season scoring average (22.1), career scoring averge (17.5), steals in a season (147), and steals in a career (475).

She was the school's first player to net 1,000 career points and her number 11 was retired in 1987.