Friday,
April 19, 2002
COUTURE RESIGNS AS
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL COACH
AT PRESBYTERIAN COLLEGE
CLINTON,
S.C. — Beth
Couture, who has led the Presbyterian College women’s
basketball program for the last 13 years, resigned Thursday to
accept a women’s basketball head coaching position at an
NCAA Division I institution.
“Obviously
at the time I have mixed emotions, however, this is a
wonderful opportunity and challenge for me as I continue my
coaching career. I will miss all the relationships that I have
developed over the past 15 years with players, alumni, fellow
staff members, and the entire PC family. I am grateful for all
the opportunities that PC has allowed me and the women’s
basketball program to enjoy. I wish the best of luck to my
current players and friends in the athletic department,”
said Couture.
Couture
has been a part of the women’s basketball program at
Presbyterian College for the last 15 years, the first two as
an assistant coach. Since taking over the program prior to the
1989-90 season, Couture has compiled an impressive 258-117
overall record including eight 20-win seasons in 13 years. In
addition, she has led the program to six trips to the NCAA
Division II National Tournament in the last nine years.
“Beth
Couture can never be replaced. Her years of dedication to PC
and the women’s basketball program can never be put into
adequate words. Coach
Couture has steadily built the program and made it into one of
the strongest and most respected in Division II, returning to
the NCAA National Tournament year after year.
Her young ladies all graduate and leave PC better for
having known her. She
is an outstanding coach and administrator, but this is a
great opportunity for her to shine at the Division I level,”
said Director of Athletics Valerie Sheley.
The
accomplishments that have taken place for the women’s
basketball program under her direction has read like an honor
roll. She has led the team to three straight South Atlantic
Conference (SAC) Regular Season and SAC Tournament titles from
1998 to 2000 while earning SAC Coach of the Year honors on
four occasions. In addition, she has had 18 all-conference
selections, three conference player of the year selections,
and 25 players named to the SAC Academic Honor Roll. Her
finest season occurred during the 1999-2000 campaign as the
Blue Hose posted a conference-record 28 wins against two
losses and were ranked as high as fourth in the nation.
“Coach
Couture embodies all the qualities one hopes to find in an
outstanding coach. She
was a standout player as an undergraduate known for her
aggressive, passionate, and accurate play.
She understands the game of basketball in all aspects
of competition; it is part of her make-up.
She loves to win; she is dignified and realistic in
defeat. She is committed to the total education of her players
and loves PC. She
works to develop each player into a successful adult capable
of making full use of her talents.
What more could one ask?
I am very grateful to Beth for all she has given PC and
wish her the very best as she moves to the Division I level.
I had hoped this day would never come; but, I knew it
would. Her record here is impressive and exemplary,” said
Presbyterian College President John V. Griffith.
Couture,
the only coach in South Atlantic Conference history to be
named coach of the year in two different women’s sports,
served as Presbyterian’s head volleyball coach from 1987-93,
amassing an overall record of 233-50. A three-time South
Atlantic Conference Volleyball Coach of the Year selection,
she guided the Blue Hose to three national tournaments
including the school’s first-ever NCAA postseason appearance
in 1993.
A
native of Greenville, S.C., Couture’s coaching career began
in 1984 at Dixie High School in nearby Due West, S.C. where
she compiled a 49-28 record in three seasons.
Couture,
a 1984 graduate of Erskine College, was a four-time choice as
MVP for the Flying Fleet and reached the pinnacle of her
playing career as a senior when she was named a Kodak
All-American. A two-time choice as NAIA District 6 Player of
the Year, Couture was inducted into the Erskine College Hall
of Fame in December of 1989, marking the first time in school
history that a candidate has been inducted in his or her first
year of eligibility. She earned a bachelor’s of science
degree in physical education from Erskine and went on to
complete a master’s degree in the same field at Furman
University in 1987.