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| Pacific athletics photo by Jaime Valdez |
FOREST GROVE, Ore. – After eight seasons leading the Pacific women's basketball program, Sharon Rissmiller has resigned to join the staff of the resurgent Oregon State program.
Rissmiller joins her former George Fox nemesis, Scott Rueck, as the Beavers' director of women's basketball operations. She will be in charge of the program's day-to-day business operations, including travel and budgeting.
The move to Oregon State brings Rissmiller full circle. She was a four-year Division I player at the University of Portland, graduating in 2001 after earning First Team All-West Coast Conference honors and the Pilots' Most Valuable Player honors as a senior. To further the family connections, Rissmiller's sister, Nancy, played for Rueck in the early days of his run at George Fox.
"I want to thank (director of athletics) Ken Schumann for the opportunity to coach at Pacific," Rissmiller said. "I am grateful to everyone at Pacific for their support and their hard work. I am thankful for my players and all of their dedication and commitment to the program. This has been a great experiences, mostly because of all the wonderful people that make Pacific a great place to come to work at every day."
Rissmiller asmassed 73 wins and 42 Northwest Conference victories in her eight years leading the Boxers. The high-water mark came during the 2012-13 season when the Boxers went 14-10. She also led Pacific to the 2008-09 NWC tournament in her second season at the helm. During her tenure, Rissmiller coached eight All-NWC selections.
"This is a great opportunity for Sharon and I wish her the very best in her new position," Schumann said. "I also want to thank Sharon for her work here at Pacific over the last eight years. She has been a great member of our department and we will certainly miss her."
Rissmiller joins an Oregon State program that has experience a revival in the four years that Rueck has led the program. After inheriting a program that won 11 games in 2009-10 and returned just three players in his first season, Rueck led the Beavers in 2014-15 to a school record 27 wins, the Pac-12 Conference regular season championship and a No. 13 national ranking after being ranked as high as No. 7 earlier in the year.
Prior to her arrival in Forest Grove, Rissmiller spent three seasons at Tacoma (Wash.) Community College, where she led the Titans to a spot in the NWAACC Tournament in her final season. She has also worked as the head women's basketball coach at Clark College in Vancouver, Wash., and one season as an assistant coach at Sunset High School in Beaverton.
A national for a new head women's basketball coach is under way. Assistant coach Larry Davis has assumed day-to-day operations of the program until a new head coach is hired.