Albany, NY – The Sage College’s department of athletics announces the selection of Allison Coleman (Jewett City, CT) as the new head women’s basketball coach for the Gators. Coleman replaces Jackie Craft, who departed Sage in June to become the head women’s basketball coach at Hartwick College (Oneonta, NY).
Director of Athletics and Recreation, Dani Drews said of her selection, "We are so excited to have Allison join our Sage family.” Drews continued, “Not only does she bring to the Gators an incredible playing and coaching background, but she is dedicated to Division III and the amazing things that can happen at our level. She is going to become a great head coach and we are thrilled that she has chosen Sage to start her career."
Coleman arrives at Sage after serving as the Assistant Women’s Basketball Coach and Game Operations Supervisor for her alma mater, Eastern Connecticut State University for the last four seasons. An assistant coach for the Warriors’ women’s basketball program for four seasons, Coleman distinguished herself as a player at ECSU as well. The most accomplished player in Division III women's basketball history, Coleman was a four-time All-American as a player for Denise Bierly at ECSU. She spent the last four seasons as an assistant coach, working alongside her mentor, Bierly Coleman said of her selection, “I am honored to serve as the next head women’s basketball coach at The Sage Colleges!” She added, “I would like to thank Dani Drews and the entire search committee for this wonderful opportunity. I would also like to thank my friend and mentor, Denise Bierly, for preparing me for this day. I accept this role with great enthusiasm and pride and I am look forward to working with this talented group of student-athletes and the challenge of moving the women’s basketball program to the next level.”
A native of Jewett City, Connecticut, Coleman was named the State Farm/WBCA National Player-of-the-Year as a senior in 2003-04 and remains the only four-time All-America in women's basketball collegiate history. With 1,991 career points, Coleman holds the mark for points in school history (either ECSU men's and women's basketball history). She also shares the women's record with 1,134 career rebounds and ranks first in assists (579) and steals (369), while standing second in three-point field goals (152) and second in games (117). She is the only player in program history with as many as 1,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds.
As a junior, Coleman led the Warriors to the NCAA Division III national title game and a second-place finish. She averaged 17.7 points and 11.9 rebounds per game and was a finalist for national Player-of-the-Year honors.
As the national Player-of-the-Year in 2003-04, Coleman represented Division III when the WBCA College All-Star Team met the USA Women's Senior National Team in April of 2004.
With Coleman, Eastern had the winningest four-year composite record in program history, winning 101 games and losing only 17 (.856 percent). In Coleman's career, Eastern qualified for three NCAA and one ECAC tournament.
Coleman was a 2010 inductee into the Connecticut Women's Basketball Hall of Fame, a 2012 inductee into the inaugural Little East Conference Hall of Fame and a member of the LEC's 25th Anniversary All-Star Team, and an October 19, 2013 inductee into the E-Club Hall of Fame.
Coleman inherits a team that garnered the program’s first Skyline Conference Championship and a bid in the 2014 NCAA Division III Tournament. The Gators posted the best finish in school history with a 17-10 record and graduated just one senior from the record-setting season.