With eight Ivy League championships and four NCAA Tournament appearances, Dartmouth women's coach Chris Wielgus has established herself as one of the nation's elite coaches. Entering her 19th season (1976-84, 1993-03) as the head coach of the Big Green, Wielgus has solidified her reputation as one of the top strategists in the country.

Wielgus is the winningest coach in the illustrious history of Dartmouth College, amassing a stellar record of 260-189 in 18 seasons. In 20 years as a head coach, Wielgus sports a 297-210 overall record. Wielgus first took over the program in just its fifth year of existence (1976-77) and led the Big Green to unprecedented heights, winning four consecutive Ivy League titles from 1980-83 before leaving Hanover in 1984 after eight seasons. She returned to the College on the Hill prior to the 1993-94 season and has revitalized the most decorated women's basketball program in the Ivy League, leading Dartmouth to four Ivy League championships, and three NCAA Tournaments. Beyond that, Wielgus has created without doubt the most consistent program in the Ancient Eight -- in fact, Wielgus' Big Green teams have not finished lower than third in the conference standings for 15 of the last 16 straight years.

Wielgus has been particularly successful against the Ivy League. During her 18-year tenure the Big Green boasts a staggering 136-65 record against Ivy opponents, as well as eight conference titles and all four of Dartmouth's forays into the NCAA Tournament (1983, 1995, 1999 and 2000). In 1980-81, Wielgus led the Big Green to a 20-9 record, earning Dartmouth a spot in the EAIAW Tournament.

Wielgus' second stint at Dartmouth came after a successful two-year reign at Fordham University. Under her tutelage, the Rams had back-to-back winning seasons for the first time in 13 years, highlighted by the 1992-93 campaign -- Wielgus' second at Rose Hill -- when they went 21-8 and won both the Patriot League League regular season and postseason tournament titles.

In between her first Dartmouth stint and her two-year stay at Fordham, Wielgus remained actively involved in women's basketball around the country. From 1984-89 she served as training camp coordinator for the United States Women's Basketball teams that won gold medals at the 1986 Goodwill Games and the 1986 World Championships. Wielgus also directed the Developmental Basketball Program in Hilton Head, S.C. and the All-Star Basketball Camps in Baton Rouge, La. and Jacksonville, Fla. Today, she is director of the All-Star Basketball Camp that runs during the summer in Hanover.

In addition to coaching basketball, Wielgus has proven herself adept in the field of business as well. She worked as a consultant at Chemical Bank in New York City from 1989-91.

Wielgus holds the unique honor of being the only active Dartmouth coach to be a member of the College's "Wearers of the Green." Under criteria for admission into the athletic honor society, Big Green coaches may be

inducted only after retiring or leaving the College. Wielgus was a 1989 inductee and was also the keynote speaker at that awards presentation.

A 1974 graduate of Springfield, Wielgus was a physical education instructor before coming to Dartmouth.