Roxanne Long is in her second season as head women’s
basketball coach at Rogers State University after being named to the position
in July 2012.
In her first season at RSU, Long led the Hillcat women’s
basketball team to its third consecutive NAIA Women’s Basketball National
Tournament appearance. The Hillcats went 24-10 in her first season as head
coach and reached the round of 16 in the NAIA National Tournament. Under her
guidance the RSU women went 12-4 in the final year of Sooner Athletic
Conference play for the best winning percentage in conference in program
history and a third place finish in conference.
Two players, Logan Froese and Sierra Cornwell, were named
NAIA Honorable Mention All-American in Long’s first season on the Hill while
five players earned All-Sooner Athletic Conference honors with Cornwell named
Co-Defensive Player of the Year and Froese named SAC All-Tournament Second
Team.
Prior to taking the helm at RSU, Long served as the head
women’s basketball coach at Texas Lutheran University for four years.
Long revived a women’s basketball program at TLU that went
1-49 in the two years prior to her appointment. In her first season with the
Bulldogs, the team registered a 7-18 record, marking the 11th-best turn-around
in NCAA Division III in 2008-2009. One season later, her team posted its first
winning record in school history as a member of the American Southwest
Conference. She was named ASC Co-Coach of the Year in 2009 and produced the
best winning percentage of any TLU women’s basketball coach in the NCAA
Division III era.
Long holds a collegiate head coaching record of 58-75 over
her five combined years as head coach at Texas Lutheran and Rogers State.
Prior to her stint at TLU, Long spent eight years as a
varsity head coach at the high school ranks in Texas. She spent five years
(2003-2008) at Central High School in Keller, Texas where she was a Texas
Basketball Coaches finalist for the State of Texas Coach of the Year. She was
named district Coach of the Year in 2007. The team reached the postseason on
three occasions and enjoyed two 20-win seasons. From 2000-2003, Long was the
varsity head coach at Diamond Hill High School in Fort Worth, Texas where she
turned a 0-25 program around and led the team to its first playoff appearance.
She was also named district coach of the year.
Long is no stranger to the state of Oklahoma. She ignited
her coaching career as a graduate assistant at Oral Roberts University under
Jerry Finkbeiner from 1998-2000. While she was on the bench with the Golden
Eagles the team won a conference championship and garnered a NCAA Tournament
berth.
Long spent five years (1993-1998) at the University of
Oklahoma as a shooting guard. She was a three-year starter for the Sooners and
the team captain during her junior and senior campaigns. She ranks in the
top-10 in the OU record book in minutes played and 3-point field goals made.
She received the Conference Medal Award, the Sooners’ Outstanding Female
Athlete of the Year and the Jay Myer Award.
Long excelled not only on the court, but also in the
classroom as she was named First Team Academic All Big 8 and Academic All Big
12.
Long earned a master’s degree in education from Oral Roberts
University and received her bachelor’s degree in education from the University
of Oklahoma. She graduated from Crescent Valley High School in Corvallis, Ore.
where she was the salutatorian of her high school graduating class. Long was an
All-State basketball selection in Oregon and was selected as the conference MVP
in high school.
Long comes from a strong coaching family. She is the
daughter of Rocky Long, head football coach at San Diego State University. Her
sister Hannah serves as the women’s volleyball coach at Southwestern University
in Georgetown, Texas.
From Sherri Coale, Head Women’s Basketball Coach, University
of Oklahoma: "Roxanne Long is a tremendous competitor. As a collegiate player, she welcomed
challenges, meeting all with a relentless work ethic and a steely
determination. I am certain that those
same traits will be evident from her on the sideline and from her team on the
floor at Rogers State."
From Jerry Finkbeiner, Head Women’s Basketball Coach, Utah
State: “Roxanne Long is a slam dunk hire for Rogers State. She is always
looking for a new challenge and I think RSU will be a great fit for her. I have
nothing but high praise for Roxanne. She is not only a creative, hard-working
coach but also a great person.”
