Nancy Osborne, a two-year assistant coach at Alverno, has been promoted to the head coaching job for the Inferno.
Osborne was an assistant under Jessica Ott, the D3hoops.com All-America selection. The Inferno went 13-14 in Ott's first season before falling to 5-20 this past season. Ott also coached for 14 years at MSOE.
“Nancy has put in the work to deserve this,” said interim athletic director Heather Parkinson. “Her familiarity with the program, current student-athletes and incoming recruits will allow for a seamless transition moving forward.”
The 2017-18 Inferno basketball team finished an injury-plagued season at 5-20 (2-18 NACC) with senior Gabby Hood securing All-NACC second team honors. In 2016-17, Alverno reached the NACC semifinal round and tied for the fourth most wins in program history. The squad finished sixth in the NACC with a 12-8 record in conference play and upset third-seeded Benedictine in the first round of the 2016-17 NACC tournament.
“I’m excited for the opportunity to lead Alverno basketball,” said Osborne. “I’ve been very fortunate to work alongside amazing people and coach student-athletes at such an incredible institution. I’m grateful to Heather Parkinson, Jim Oppermann and the rest of the athletics staff for their unwavering confidence in me. We have a lot of hard work ahead of us, but our team is ready for the challenge.”
Before her coaching career, the North Canton, Ohio, native was a four-year member of the women’s basketball team at Mount Union. Osborne played 81 career games and started 51 for the Purple Raiders. During her senior season, Osborne started 26 games and was the team’s third-leading scorer with 7.7 points per game. The Purple Raiders captured the Ohio Athletic Conference championship and advanced to the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Division III championships her freshman season.
Osborne received her bachelor’s degree in exercise science from Mount Union and is working on her master’s degree in organizational leadership and development at Alverno.