Berube gone to D-I

More news about: Tufts
Carla Berube is the second Division III women's basketball Elite Eight coach this offseason to take a D-I head coaching job.
Photo by Thomas Nettleton, d3photography.com
 

Carla Berube, who built the Tufts University women's basketball team into a national championship contender during 17 seasons with the Jumbos, is stepping down to accept a new position as head coach at Princeton.

Berube will replace Courtney Banghart as the Tigers' head coach. Banghart was recently named head coach at the University of North Carolina. A member of the Ivy League, Princeton was 22-10 in 2018-19 and secured the Ivy League regular season and tournament championships for the second straight year.

Berube is the fourth Division III women's basketball head coach to go directly to a Division I head coaching job this offseason, and the eighth in the past three offseasons. Berube's Jumbo teams compiled a 384-96 overall record for an .800 winning percentage that ranks in the top 10 among active coaches in Division III

"With her tremendous success here at Tufts University and with USA Basketball, Carla has become one of the top coaches in the country," Tufts athletic director John Morris said. "Princeton has made an outstanding hire – in Carla, the Tigers are getting a truly exceptional coach, educator and person to lead their women's basketball program. We are very sorry to see her go, and we are extremely grateful to Carla for her countless positive contributions to Tufts during her 17 years here. We wish Carla and her family all the best in this next step, and we will be cheering loudly for Carla and her continued success."

Berube guided Tufts into the NCAA Division III Final Four in four consecutive seasons (2014-17), including back-to-back appearances in the national championship game. During her tenure, the team received 11 NCAA berths overall and had a 33-13 record in those games (.717 winning percentage). The Jumbos made six consecutive "Elite Eight" appearances from 2014-19.

Berube was also selected as the head coach of the USA Basketball Women's U16 and U17 National Teams during her tenure at Tufts. She guided the teams to gold medals at the 2017 International Basketball FederationAmericas Championship and in the 2018 FIBA World Cup, and was twice presented with a USA Basketball Developmental Coach of the Year Award. 

In the New England Small College Athletic Conference, Berube guided Tufts to three conference titles and nine league championship game appearanbces overall. The team had a 55-5 record against league opponents from 2014-19 and a 96-20 record against conference opponents since 2007. Berube was a five-time NESCAC Coach of the Year.

A 1997 UConn graduate, Berube was a member of the Huskies' 1995 NCAA Division I national championship team. She played professionally in the American Basketball League before getting into coaching as an assistant at Providence. She was hired at Tufts in 2002, at the age of 26.

From D-III to D-I

The list of women's basketball coaches to go directly from D-III to D-I head coaching jobs since 2000 has grown by four players in this offseason alone. Click on the links to see stories on each coach's jump.

Coach, D-III school D-I school Year Best year there Current job
Lisa Stone, UW-Eau Claire Drake 2000-01 25-8, 2001-02 D-I St. Louis (26-8 in 15-16)
Candace Crabtree, Rowan Drexel 2000-01 19-10, 2000-01 Out of coaching
Richard Barron, Sewanee Princeton  2000-01 21-7, 2005-06 Maine men's head coach
Tammy Smith, Muhlenberg Lafayette 2001-02 14-16, 2007-08 Out of coaching
Julie Goodenough, Hardin-Simmons Oklahoma St. 2002-03 8-20, 2003-04 D-I Abilene Christian (26-4 in 15-16)
Mary Hegarty, Chapman Long Beach St. 2003-04 19-9, 2004-05 Out of coaching
Kristin Hughes, Case Colgate 2004-05 12-18, 2004-05 Out of coaching
Stefanie Pemper, Bowdoin Navy 2008-09 25-8, 2017-18 Navy
Scott Rueck, George Fox Oregon St. 2010-11 31-4, 2016-17 Oregon State
Aaron Roussell, Chicago Bucknell 2012-13 28-6, 2018-19 Bucknell
Greg Todd, Transylvania Morehead St. 2013-14 24-11, 2018-19 Morehead State
Nancy Fahey, Washington U. Illinois 2016-17 10-20, 2018-19 Illinois
Loree Payne, Puget Sound Northern Arizona 2016-17 13-18, 2018-19 Northern Arizona
Marc Mitchell, FDU-Florham St. Peter's 2017-18 6-24, 2018-19 St. Peter's
Scott Hemer, SUNY Geneseo Canisius 2017-18 11-19, 2018-19 Canisius
Michael Meek, George Fox Portland 2018-19    
Trevor Woodruff, Scranton Bucknell 2018-19    
Lauren Sumski, Rhodes Lipscomb 2018-19    
Carla Berube, Tufts Princeton 2018-19