Hartford Hawks women's basketball

The Hartford Hawks women's basketball team is the basketball team that represents the University of Hartford in West Hartford, Connecticut, United States. The school's team currently competes as in the NCAA Division III Commonwealth Coast Conference.

Hartford Hawks
2023–24 Hartford Hawks women's basketball team
University	University of Hartford
All-time record	577–644 (.473)
Head coach	Polly Thomason (2nd season)
Conference	Conference of New England
Location	West Hartford, Connecticut
Arena	Chase Arena at Reich Family Pavilion (capacity: 4,017)
Nickname	Hawks
Colors	Scarlet and white[1]
Uniforms
Home Away
NCAA tournament round of 32
2006, 2008
NCAA tournament appearances
2002, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2011
Conference tournament champions
2002, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2011
Conference regular season champions
2006, 2007, 2008, 2010

History

The school began the women's basketball team in 1975 as a Division III school. The program moved to Division II and was a member of the Northeast-10 Conference (originally Northeast-7) between 1980 and 1984. The school transitioned to Division I in 1984, playing as an independent school in 1984–85, and then becoming part of the Seaboard Conference in 1985–86. The Seaboard Conference became the North Atlantic Conference in 1989, and changed their name to America East in 1996.

2000s

Hartford's most successful run came in the early and mid 2000s under head coach Jen Rizzotti who was hired in 1999.^[2] Under Rizzotti, Hartford made 6 NCAA tournament appearances. In 2006 Hartford knocked of the sixth seeded Temple Owls in the first round advancing to the round of the 32 for the first time in program history.^[3] Hartford has continued its success under current head coach Kim McNeill, making the 2018 America East championship game.^[4]

Division III

On May 6, 2021, the University of Hartford Board of Regents voted to drop its athletic department to Division III. The drop is set to take place no later than September 1, 2025.^[5]

Year by year results

Season	Coach	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Nancy Lauritis (DIII) (1975–1976)
1975–76	Nancy Lauritis	2–6
Nancy Lauritis:		2–6
Roger Wickman (DIII, DII) (1976–1984)
1976–77	Roger Wickman	11–2
1977–78	Roger Wickman	11–2
1978–79	Roger Wickman	8–8
1979–80	Roger Wickman	14–3
1980–81	Roger Wickman	8–11
1981–82	Roger Wickman	7–14
1982–83	Roger Wickman	5–18
1983–84	Roger Wickman	3–20
Roger Wickman:		67–78
Carlos Aldave (Independent/America East Conference) (1984–1986)
1984–85	Carlos Aldave	6–18
Division I
1985–86	Carlos Aldave	3–23	1–11	7th
Carlos Aldave:		9–41	1–11
Jean Walling Murphy (America East) (1986–1990)
1986–87	Jean Walling Murphy	7–18	3–11	7th
1987–88	Jean Walling Murphy	9–18	6–8	5th
1988–89	Jean Walling Murphy	4–19	4–8	7th
1989–90	Jean Walling Murphy	4–22	2–10	T-6th
Jean Walling Murphy:		24–77	15–37
Mark Schmidt (America East) (1990–1992)
1990–91	Mark Schmidt	11–18	5–5	4th
1991–92	Mark Schmidt	9–19	2–12	8th
Mark Schmidt:		20–37	7–17
Allison Jones (America East) (1992–1999)
1992–93	Allison Jones	11–16	6–8	5th
1993–94	Allison Jones	9–18	2–12	8th
1994–95	Allison Jones	7–20	2–14	9th
1995–96	Allison Jones	15–13	10–8	4th
1996–97	Allison Jones	15–12	12–6	4th
1997–98	Allison Jones	11–16	20–8	T-4th
1998–99	Allison Jones	8–19	5–13	9th
Allison Jones:		76–114	47–69
Jennifer Rizzotti (America East) (1999–2016)
1999–00	Jennifer Rizzotti	14–14	9–9	5th
2000–01	Jennifer Rizzotti	15–14	9–9	4th
2001–02	Jennifer Rizzotti	16–15	9–7	5th	NCAA first round
2002–03	Jennifer Rizzotti	7–21	5–11	8th
2003–04	Jennifer Rizzotti	18–12	9–9	4th
2004–05	Jennifer Rizzotti	22–9	13–5	2nd	NCAA first round
2005–06	Jennifer Rizzotti	27–4	15–1	1st	NCAA second round
2006–07	Jennifer Rizzotti	25–9	15–1	1st	WNIT Second Round
2007–08	Jennifer Rizzotti	28–6	14–2	1st	NCAA second round
2008–09	Jennifer Rizzotti	20–12	14–2	2nd	WNIT Second Round
2009–10	Jennifer Rizzotti	27–5	16–0	1st	NCAA first round
2010–11	Jennifer Rizzotti	17–15	11–5	4th	NCAA first round
2011–12	Jennifer Rizzotti	19–13	10–6	3rd	WNIT First Round
2012–13	Jennifer Rizzotti	21–12	10–6	3rd	WNIT First Round
2013–14	Jennifer Rizzotti	13–18	9–7	5th
2014–15	Jennifer Rizzotti	16–17	8–8	5th
2015–16	Jennifer Rizzotti	11–19	7–9	6th
Jennifer Rizzotii:		316–216	183–97
Kim McNeill (America East) (2016–2019)
2016–17	Kim McNeill	17–14	7–9	6th
2017–18	Kim McNeill	19–13	9–7	6th
2018–19	Kim McNeill	23–11	14–2	2nd	WNIT First Round
Kim McNeill:		59–38	30–18
Morgan Valley (America East) (2019–2021)
2019–20	Morgan Valley	1–28	1–15	8th
2020–21	Morgan Valley	3–9	3–9	T-9th
Morgan Valley:		4–37	4–24
Melissa L. Hodgdon (America East) (2021–2022)
2021–22	Melissa L. Hodgdon	4–26	4–14
Melissa L. Hodgdon:		4–26	4–14
Polly Thomason (Independent) (2022–2023)
2022–23	Polly Thomason	2–25	0–0
Division III
Polly Thomason (Commonwealth Coast Conference) (2023–present)
2023–24	Polly Thomason	11–14	7–11
Polly Thomason:		13–39	7–11
Total:		590–683
National champion         Postseason invitational champion         Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion       Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion       Conference tournament champion

Postseason

NCAA Division I tournament results

Year	Seed	Round	Opponent	Result
2002	(16)	First Round	(1) Oklahoma	L 52–84
2005	(14)	First Round	(3) Rutgers	L 37–62
2006	(11)	First Round Second Round	(6) Temple (3) Georgia	W 64–58 L 54–73
2008	(10)	First Round Second Round	(7) Syracuse (2) Texas A&M	W 59–55 L 39–63
2010	(10)	First Round	(7) LSU	L 39–60
2011	(16)	First Round	(1) Connecticut	L 39–75

WNIT results

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
2007	First Round Second Round	Bucknell South Carolina	W 70–54 L 40–81
2009	Second Round	St. John's	L 59–70
2012	First Round	Syracuse	L 42–59
2013	First Round	Harvard	L 57–61
2019	First Round	Providence	L 54–71

Notable players

Danielle Hood, basketball player for the University of Hartford women's basketball team. Taken at fundraiser, where she was the featured speaker.

• Danielle Hood, played 2004–2008. Was drafted by the Atlanta Dream as the 32nd pick of the 2008 draft. Although she did not make the final roster, she is the first player from Hartford, and only the second player from an America East Conference team to be drafted by the WNBA.^[6]
• Liz Stich, played 2001–2005. Coached Plymouth State University from 2012–2015. She was inducted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013.^[7]
• Erica Beverly, played 2005–2010. She was inducted to the New England Basketball Hall of Fame.^[8]

Head coaches

• Nancy Lauritis (1975–1976)
• Roger Wickman (1976–1984)
• Carlos Aldave (1984–1986)
• Jean Walling Murphy (1986–1990)
• Mark Schmidt (1990–1992)
• Allison Jones (1992–1999)^[9]
• Jennifer Rizzotti (1999–2016)^[10]
• Kim McNeill (2016–2019)^[11]
• Morgan Valley (2019–2021)^[12]
• Melissa Hodgdon (2021–2022)
• Polly Thomason (2022–present)

References

1. University of Hartford Brand Identity Guide. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
2. "Rizzotti To Coach Hartford Women". Associated Press. Retrieved January 20, 2019.
3. "Rizzotti's Hawks knock off Temple". newstimes. 20 March 2006. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
4. "Hartford Wiped Out By Dominant Quarter In America East Final". Hartford Courant. Retrieved January 20, 2019.
5. "University of Hartford Votes to Drop Athletic Department to Division III". Sports Illustrated. May 6, 2021. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
6. "Uhart's Hood Released". Hartford Courant. Retrieved September 16, 2013.
7. "PSU Women's Basketball Coach earns Hall of Fame nod". Plymouth State University. Retrieved September 16, 2013.
8. "Bridgeport's Beverly inducted to New England Basketball Hall of Fame". CTPost. 22 June 2013. Retrieved September 16, 2013.
9. "Women's Coach For Hawks Resigns". Hartford Courant. Retrieved February 4, 2018.
10. "After 316 Wins At UHart, Jen Rizzotti Leaving To Coach At George Washington". Hartford Courant. Retrieved February 4, 2018.
11. "Hartford Hires UVA's Kim McNeill As Women's Basketball Coach To Replace Jen Rizzotti". Hartford Courant. Retrieved February 4, 2018.
12. "UConn alum Morgan Valley introduced as University of Hartford women's basketball coach". Hartford Courant. Retrieved April 21, 2018.

External links

• Official website