RELEASE FROM TEMPLE UNIVERSIY
PHILADELPHIA (06/07/11) – Temple University has reached an agreement on a new long-term contract for Tonya Cardoza that will keep its highly-successful women’s basketball coach at the University until 2016, Director of Athletics Bill Bradshaw announced.
“Tonya Cardoza’s performance has been exceptional in her three seasons here, and we are very pleased to be able to reach this new agreement that will keep her in charge of our most visible women’s program for the next five years,” Bradshaw said.
“I’m really excited about the opportunity to continue to build upon where we already are here at Temple,” said Cardoza. “There are so many things I love about the city of Philadelphia, and the University has been nothing but supportive to our program. I look forward to our upcoming season.”
In her three seasons at the helm, Cardoza has led the Owls to three straight NCAA Tournament appearances with the Owls reaching the Second Round in each of the past two seasons. Cardoza earned her first A-10 Coach of the Year honor in 2011. She has been honored as the Big 5 Coach of the Year in each of her seasons at Temple, and the Owls have won the Big 5 title twice in her tenure.
The former Connecticut assistant coach owns a 70-28 record at Temple, with her .714 winning percentage the highest among TU women’s basketball coaches in the modern era. Cardoza led Temple to 21 wins in 2008-09, and was a finalist for the national rookie coach of the year award. She followed that with 25 wins in 2009-10 which tied for the second-most in the history of the program, and 24 victories in 2010-11.
Five of her players have earned all-Atlantic 10 accolades with Kristen McCarthy (2010) and Shey Peddy (2011) garnering first team honors. McCarthy (2010) and Peddy (2011) were named the Big 5 Player of the Year in each of the past two seasons as Cardoza has had five players named to the first team (two being repeat performers) and eight players total recognized as all-Big 5.
Temple returns eight letterwinners, including three starters, from last year’s squad that posted a 24-9 record in earning the program’s eighth straight trip to the NCAA Tournament.
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