Iowa State Cyclones women's basketball head coach Bill Fennelly
Bill Fennelly (1995–Present)
In 1995 (one year before inception of the Big 12), Iowa State hired former University of Toledo head women's basketball coach, Bill Fennelly.  When Fennelly arrived, Iowa State hadn't had a winning season in seven years and only five winning seasons ever.  In his first season, Fennelly led the Cyclones to a 17–10 record.  That is nearly as many wins as Fennelly's predecessor, Theresa Becker, had in her career (18) at ISU in the three previous years.
Fennelly came to Iowa State after building a successful program at Toledo (.758 overall winning percentage, three NCAA and three WNIT appearances).  In nineteen seasons at Iowa State (1995–2014), Fennelly has continued that success, compiling a record of 410–184 overall and 177–118 in conference play.
Under Fennelly, Iowa State advanced to its first NCAA appearance (1997), won its first NCAA game (1998), and hosted five consecutive NCAA first and second-round games (1998–2002) when host sites were earned, not pre-determined.  Fennelly was national runner-up for the Associated Press (AP) Coach of the Year and guided the Cyclones to their first national ranking, reaching #22 (both in 1998).  Iowa State advanced to the Elite 8 in 1999 and again in 2009.  The Cyclones have made it to the Sweet 16 six times (1999–2001, 2009, 2010, 2022).  Stacy Frese became Iowa State’s first AP All-American (1999).  Iowa State won the Big 12 regular season title (2000) and three Big 12 Conference tournament championships (2000–2001, 2023).  Iowa State defeated its first #1 ranked team (Texas Tech, ESPN poll) and advanced to its first post-season Final Four in the WNIT (both 2004).
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