Earlier this season, Patterson garnered her second career Big 12 Coach of the Year award from the league’s coaches. She has also been named the Big 12 Coach of the Year by several publications including: the Kansas City Star, Dallas Morning News and Waco Tribune.
Patterson, K-State’s all-time wins leader with 239 during her 12-year career, led Kansas State to the 2008 Big 12 regular season title, the team’s second championship since 2004. The Wildcats became the first team in Big 12 women’s or men’s basketball history to go from last in the conference standings to first the next year. K-State finished 13-3 in Big 12 contests, one game ahead of second place Baylor. Kansas State is 21-9 on the year with four wins over Top 25-ranked opponents and received its seventh straight postseason bid and the 10th NCAA Tournament appearance in school history.
Additional recipients of the Russell Athletic/WBCA Regional Coach of the Year award were: Geno Auriemma (Connecticut; Region 1), Sylvia Hatchell (North Carolina; Region 2), Pat Summitt (Tennessee; Region 3), Keitha Adams (UTEP; Region 4), Lisa Bluder (Iowa; Region 6), Elaine Elliott (Utah; Region 7), Joanne Boyle (California; Region 8).
The winners are selected through a two-level process. The first level is by region, in which coaches from each WBCA geographical region vote for their respective top coach. If a coach has been selected as Regional Coach of the Year, they advance as a finalist to the national level of the selection process along with the other Regional Coaches of the Year in their respective division.
The winners of the WBCA National Coach of the Year for each division will be honored on Monday, April 7, 2008, at Noon (ET) during the RUSSELL ATHLETIC/WBCA National Coach of the Year Luncheon presented by AstraZeneca in the Marriott Waterside’s Grand Ballroom. The luncheon is part of the 2008 WBCA National Convention, held in conjunction with the NCAA® Women’s Final Four®.
Kansas State, the No. 5 seed in the New Orleans region, will begin action in the 2008 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament on Sunday, March 23 at 11 a.m. (CT), against No.12-seed Chattanooga in Bridgeport, Conn.