Women's basketball coach Brian Morehouse, who this weekend is
taking his squad to the final four of the NCAA championships, has been named
the Division III national coach of the year by the Women's Basketball Coaches
Association of America.
Women's basketball coach Brian Morehouse, who this weekend is
taking his squad to the final four of the NCAA championships, has been named
the Division III national coach of the year by the Women's Basketball Coaches
Association of America.
The announcement was made at a banquet Thursday night for the competing teams
at the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass.
Under coach Brian Morehouse the Flying Dutch over the past decade have won
20-or-more games eight consecutive seasons, claimed six MIAA championships and made
five trips to the NCAA Championships, including this year's final four appearance.
Nationally ranked among NCAA Division III teams the entire season, the 2005-06
Flying Dutch were MIAA conference champions and enter NCAA Final Four play
with a 31-1 overall record and 28-game winning streak.
The Flying Dutch play Scranton, Pa. in a national semi-final game on Friday.
In 10 seasons under Morehouse the Flying Dutch are 232-51 (82%). In 2001-02
and again in 2002-03 he was voted the District Coach of the Year by the
Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) and in 2001-02 the Michigan
Collegiate women's basketball coach of the year by the Basketball Coaches
Association of Michigan. He was also recently named the 05-06 d3hoops.com
region coach of the year. He entered the 2005-06 season ranked eighth among active
NCAA Division III coaches by winning percentage.
A 1991 Hope College graduate who serves as director of the college's Dow
Physical Education and Health Center and DeVos Fieldhouse, Morehouse is
familiar with the Hope basketball scene having served in the men's program for
a number of years. He was the men's junior varsity coach for two years,
compiling a record of 30-9. He was a student assistant coach through his
undergraduate years.
He graduated with honors from Hope with a major in business administration and
minors in history, psychology and sociology and earned a teaching certificate
for secondary education.
Morehouse's basketball roots run deep. His father, Dean, was the boy's
basketball coach at Fremont (Mich.) High School and has been one of son's
assistant coaches since 2000-01.
His wife, Elizabeth (Liz) Hain, a 1993 Hope graduate, played in the college's
basketball program for two years. The Morehouses have two daughters, Megan and
Emma.