On April 8, 2010 the University of Missouri ushered in a new era of women's basketball with the announcement of Robin Pingeton as the fourth head coach in program history. Pingeton came to Columbia with 15 years of head coaching experience, and she also brought with her a hardworking staff with the knowledge, determination and winning attitude necessary to build a winning program at Mizzou.
Pingeton reinvigorated the Tiger program from the moment she stepped on campus. In her inaugural year, Missouri posted a 13-18 overall record and a 5-11 mark in Big 12 Conference play, the best for the team since 2006-07. The Tigers accomplished these feats despite playing the seventh-toughest schedule in the nation, a slate that featured 16 games against teams who qualified for the NCAA Tournament and 10 games against ranked opponents.
Mizzou recorded three wins against those ranked foes, a 54-45 win over No. 12 Georgetown in the Paradise Jam, an 85-80 overtime victory over No. 22 Texas in the Big 12 opener and a 49-48 win against No. 23 Iowa State in the regular season finale. The three wins over ranked opponents were the most for the Tigers since the 2000-01 season. Additionally, Mizzou's win over Texas ended a 12-game losing streak to the Longhorns, dating back to 2001, and was only the second time the Tigers have defeated the Longhorns.
The Tigers' success continued in the 2011-12 season as Mizzou started out with a 10-1 record, the program's best start since the 2006-07 season when Mizzou began the year 12-1. Under Pingeton's direction, the Tigers went undefeated through the first five games for the first time since 1997. Not only that, but with Pingeton's coaching, senior Christine Flores became the first Tiger to record a triple-double since 1995. Flores set several new records at Mizzou for the most blocks in her career and in a single season before being drafted to the WNBA.
Pingeton's recruiting talents made their debut in the 2011-12 season as star recruits Kyley Simmons and Morgan Eye made an immediate impact on the squad. With Pingeton's tutelage, Simmons earned a spot as a consistent starter and developed into the team's top point guard. She stands as Mizzou's first player to be named to the All-Big 12 Freshman team. Eye also racked up the minutes, and developed into one of the league's premier three-point shooters.
Robin Pingeton led ISU to
26 wins or more in each of
the past three seasons.
Before taking the reins at Mizzou, Pingeton spent seven years at the helm of Illinois State, where she amassed a 144-81 (.640) record and brought the Redbird program back to national prominence. During her tenure, she led the school to three straight Missouri Valley Conference Regular Season titles, two State Farm Missouri Valley Tournament championships, a school-best four straight 20-win seasons, two NCAA Tournament berths and three WNIT appearances en route to Missouri Valley Coach of the Year honors in 2004 and 2010. Over the past three seasons, Pingeton compiled an 81-23 (.779) mark to put together the best three-year span in Illinois State history.
In 2009-10, Pingeton led the Redbirds to their third consecutive Missouri Valley Regular Season title, the semifinals of the WNIT and a 28-8 record. In Illinois State's WNIT run, the team earned wins over Butler, Purdue, Illinois and a 71-51 victory over Big 12 Conference rival Kansas. The 28 wins tied the 1980-81 Illinois State team for the most in program history and assured the team of at least 22 wins for the fourth straight year. Her efforts garnered Russell Athletic / Women's Basketball Coaches Association Region Six Coach of the Year and Missouri Valley Coach of the Year accolades.
Pingeton has prior Big 12
experience, after spending
three seasons at Iowa State.
Pingeton's 2008-09 squad went 27-8 and had a 16-5 conference mark as the team earned its first ever outright Missouri Valley Regular Season title and advanced to the WNIT semifinals. One year earlier, the Redbirds went 26-7 to post the second-best winning percentage (.788) in school history, earned a trip to the NCAA Tournament and claimed the State Farm Missouri Valley Tournament title and a share of the regular season crown.
In her first year on the Illinois State sideline, Pingeton earned Missouri Valley Coach of the Year honors after a 16-13 mark, the first winning season for the Redbirds in seven seasons. The following year Illinois State earned its first NCAA Tournament berth since 1989 after claiming the Missouri Valley Tournament Championship. Pingeton then led the team to a 22-11 record in 2006-07, Illinois State's first 20-win season since 1989-90.
Familiar with the Big 12, Pingeton spent three seasons on Bill Fennelly's staff at Iowa State, including the 2002-03 season as the associate head coach. During her time in Ames, Iowa State went 66-33, made two NCAA Tournament appearances and won the 2001 Big 12 Tournament title.
Pingeton started her head coaching career at her alma mater, St. Ambrose, in 1992. In eight seasons, the Bees qualified for five NAIA National Tournaments, including Elite Eight berths in 1996 and 2000. Pingeton was named the conference coach of the year three times and the NAIA Kodak District Coach of the Year in 2000.
A 1990 graduate of St. Ambrose, Pingeton stands as the school's all-time scoring leader with 2,502 points, and earned All-America honors in both basketball and softball. She also played three seasons of professional basketball in the Women's Basketball Association.
Pingeton and her husband Rich are the proud parents of two sons Blake, born June 9, 2006 and Zach born July 5, 2011. In her limited spare time, Pingeton enjoys spending time with her family on their boat and hitting the links.
Head Coaching History
MIZZOU
2010-11
13-18 (.419)
2011-12
13-18 (.419)
2 Seasons
26-36 (.419)
ILLINOIS STATE
2003-04
16-13 (.552)
MVC Coach of the Year
2004-05
13-18 (.419)
MVC Tournament Champion; NCAA First Round
2005-06
12-16 (.429)
2006-07
22-11 (.667)
WNIT Second Round
2007-08
26-7 (.788)
MVC Regular Season Champ.; MVC Tourn. Champ.; NCAA First Round
2008-09
27-8 (.771)
MVC Regular Season Champion; WNIT Semifinals
2009-10
28-8 (.778)
MVC Regular Season Champion; WNIT Semifinals
7 Seasons
144-81 (.640)
ST. AMBROSE
1992-93
22-8 (.733)
1993-94
25-7 (.781)
NAIA National Tournament
1994-95
19-11(.633)
1995-96
30-6 (.833)
NAIA National Elite Eight
1996-97
27-7 (.794)
NAIA National Tournament
1997-98
20-15 (.571)
1998-99
19-15 (.559)
NAIA National Tournament
1999-2000
30-7 (.811)
NAIA National Elite Eight
8 Seasons
192-76 (.716)
CAREER HEAD COACHING RECORD
17 Seasons
362-193 (.652)
What They're Saying About Robin Pingeton
"Robin Pingeton is the complete package. She's an outstanding coach and teacher and she will be an excellent ambassador for Mizzou women's basketball. She has a proven track record of winning with quality student-athletes - Kristi Cirone was a three-time MVC Player of the Year and an Academic All-American. This past season, she represented the Valley very well in postseason play with wins over Purdue, Kansas and Illinois. She'll bring instant credibility to her program." - Doug Elgin, Commissioner, Missouri Valley Conference
"Robin is one of the up-and-coming stars in our profession. She really is the whole package. She has a tremendous family, she is very committed to the university and its mission and she is obviously an outstanding basketball coach and teacher. Robin has worked very hard to get to this point. She is very committed to her student-athletes and their success in life. I couldn't be more proud of her. Missouri made a tremendous hire." - Bill Fennelly, Head Coach, Iowa State University
"Robin is a great hire for Missouri. She has been a winner throughout her career and she showed that by turning around the Illinois State program and leading it to consistent success. I have the utmost respect for Robin because she gets the most out of her players. Her team always plays hard and is well prepared, so as an opposing coach you know that you're going to be in for a battle. I have no doubts that Robin has the experience and the drive to bring Missouri women's basketball back into the national spotlight." - Jolette Law, Head Coach, University of Illinois
"Robin Pingeton will be an excellent addition to the University of Missouri community. She has experienced winning at every level. Coach Pingeton has demonstrated the ability to recruit, plan, prepare and game adjust, which are all important characteristics a coach must have to be successful in the dynamic Big 12." - Debbie Antonelli, Women's Basketball Analyst
"We are very excited to have someone the caliber of Robin Pingeton as our head women's basketball coach at Mizzou. Coach Pingeton is an outstanding fit for our program, for the University, for the city of Columbia, and for our fan base. We are very confident that she will come in and develop a winning program and that she will do it the right way, with a sharp focus on our three core values of academic integrity, social responsibility and competitive excellence.This is an outstanding hire for Mizzou, and we are excited for our student-athletes, who stand to benefit from her leadership." - Mike Alden, Director of Athletics, Mizzou
