Players
Carol Owens
Year Inducted: 2020
Category: Players
Schools / Organizations: (Chicago) Notre Dame High School
Northern Illinois University
The University of Notre Dame
Team USA
Biography: Carol began her outstanding career in basketball as a high school player at (Chicago) Notre Dame High School. After her senior season in 1984-85, she was named the National Girls’ Catholic High School Player of Year. Carol stayed close to home as she became an All-American post player during Northern Illinois’ rise to national prominence. She was the first career 2,000-point and 1,000-rebound performer (male or female) in Huskie history and one of the rare players with 2,000-point / 1,000-rebound career stats in NCAA Division I women’s history since 1982-83. Carol was named a two-time Kodak District Four All-America (1988-90), U.S. Basketball Writers Association District Four All-America (1989-90), Honorable Mention World Almanac All-America (1989-90), North Star Conference Player of Year (1989-90), three-time First-Team All-NSC (1987-90), and three-year team captain. Her Huskie teammates voted Carol to be the MVP on 26-5 Hall of Fame NIU quintet that led country in scoring (94.5 ppg.), made the school’s first NCAA tourney, plus finished No. 17 in final AP poll and No. 21 in USA Today version as a senior. Carol rated No. 25 in NCAA scoring at 21.7 ppg. (1989-90). She graduated with 13 school records while scoring 2,102 points; grabbing 1,028 rebounds; snaring 256 steals; and blocking 244 shots. Carol scored a career-high 41 points vs. Illinois (1989-90). She captained Silver Medal North unit at Olympic Sports Festival (1986) and was invited to the US National Team trials (1990). After a short pro career overseas, Carol turned to coaching, first as an assistant at Michigan. She has spent 20 total years at the University of Notre Dame in two stints (first from 1995-2005, then again since 2010-11). In between she returned to coach her alma mater (2005-10). As the senior member of the program’s assistant coaching staff, Notre Dame has posted a 575-124 (.823), averaging over 28 victories per season in her tenure. More notably, the Fighting Irish have won two national titles, with the first coming in 2001, followed by the second in 2018. In addition, Notre Dame has appeared in seven NCAA title games and have reached the Final Four nine times (1997, 2001, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019) – which ranks as the fifth most of any school. Carol Owens was named the 2019 WBCA Division I Assistant Coach of the Year along with being inducted into the inaugural STEP-UP Assistant Coach Hall of Fame. In 2014, she was chosen as the inaugural recipient of the A Step-Up Assistant Coach of the Year Award, presented by Felicia Hall Allen & Associates. In 2001, she was named one of the top five assistant coaches in the country by Women’s Basketball Journal, and in 2011, CollegeInsider.com named her as one of the top 15 active assistants in the nation.
