Head women’s basketball coach Ron Stewart is entering his 11th season at the helm of Bronco basketball. Stewart is arguably one of the most successful women’s basketball coaches in the history of Western Michigan athletics.
Named head coach of the Broncos on June 7, 1997, Stewart brought a wealth of coaching experience and success to the position and wasted little time making the WMU women’s basketball program one that the University, fans, alumni and the community are proud of both on and off the court.
In a decade of service, Stewart has compiled an overall record of 146-150 and a 102-76 Mid-American Conference record. He collected his 100th career win, Jan. 24, 2004, after a 76-61 victory over Akron.
Last season, Stewart’s Broncos posted an overall record of 14-18 and advanced to the quarterfinals of the Mid-American Conference Tournament. Many milestones were reached during the 2006-07 season, as the program eclipsed the 500-win mark and Stewart reached 100 MAC wins with a 80-66 victory over Central Michigan on Feb. 2, 2007.
Stewart guided the development of Carrie Moore over the past four years, who broke nine school records and four conference marks last season. Named MAC Co-Player of the Year, she became the second Bronco to earn player of the year honors under Stewart’s tutelage. Finishing the season with a 25.4 points per game scoring average, Moore became the first player ever from the MAC to lead the nation in scoring, doing so from the season’s start to finish.
Talent is something Stewart’s squads are not shy of, as a total of 10 Broncos have been named to All-MAC teams 25 times, on top of two MAC Freshmen of the Year, a MAC Tournament MVP, a MAC Defensive Player of the Year and two MAC Player of the Year recipients.
Additionally, Stewart has had four players named Kodak/WBCA All-America Honorable Mentions ? Shelsea Erving, Kristin Koetsier, Carrie Moore and Casey Rost - who won the award twice (2004, 2006). A total of nine players have reached 1,000 points during Stewart’s reign, with two of them reaching 2,000.
The caliber of Western Michigan’s student-athletes is a tribute to the long miles and hours Stewart and his assistant coaches Ryan Bragdon, Mary Marchese and Skyler Young dedicate themselves to in finding the top talented players to continue the program’s winning ways.
The Bronco women’s basketball program has reached heights it never experienced prior to Stewart’s arrival in Kalamazoo. In 10 seasons, Stewart has led WMU to four postseason Women’s National Invitation Tournament appearances, the 1999 Preseason WNIT, the 2000 MAC West Division title game, the 2003 MAC Championship, and the 2003 automatic NCAA Division I tournament bid.
Stewart has strengthened the team’s schedule since his arrival, as the Broncos compete against some of the best teams in the country. WMU’s non-conference schedule remains one of the toughest, as it faces four teams (New Mexico, Drake, Temple and Marquette) that appeared in the 2007 NCAA Tournament and one WNIT participant (Seton Hall) in the upcoming season. In recent years, Western Michigan has gone toe-to-toe with Connecticut, North Carolina, Stanford, Notre Dame, Iowa State, Vanderbilt, Kansas State, Kansas, Florida, Arizona State, Michigan and Purdue - to name a few.
In Stewart’s first season, WMU showed major improvement in the win column notching seven wins after a dismal 3-23 record the year prior to his arrival. The team would close out his inaugural season with three straight triumphs and carry that momentum into one of the program’s best seasons ever. The Broncos posted the best regular-season turnaround in the nation in 1998-99 with a 19-10 overall record. The team’s 12-game swing in victories was the best in school history and one of the best in MAC history. The improvement was a testament to Stewart’s coaching skills, as the team featured just two new players that saw significant playing time. That year he also led the Broncos to their first post-season appearance in four seasons and an appearance in the MAC Tournament semifinals, the program’s furthest post-season advancement since 1995. The 1998-99 season was capped off when the Broncos hosted Michigan in front of a school-record 2,572 fans in the WNIT, the first NIT game of any kind to be hosted at Western Michigan University. Four of the top five women’s basketball crowds in team history have occurred during the Stewart era.
In 1999-2000, the Broncos drew an average of 1,136 fans to establish a then program record. The Broncos continued their success winning 14 out of 16 conference games to clinch the MAC West Division championship. WMU hosted a WNIT contest for the second straight season, battling DePaul in front of 2,172 fans at University Arena. Stewart’s coaching efforts did not go unnoticed as he finished one point shy of winning the MAC Coach of the Year honors.
In 2000-01, the Broncos were tabbed as the pre-season favorite to win the MAC. Injuries and other setbacks sidetracked those plans, but Stewart and his staff guided their program to a 11-5 conference record and a fifth place overall showing.
In 2003-04, Stewart guided his team to the quarterfinals of the WNIT, becoming the first team in MAC history to advance to a postseason quarterfinal game. WMU defeated Conference USA members Louisville, 63-61, and Charlotte, 85-83, but fell to Richmond in the quarterfinals. WMU claimed its best league start in school history (7-0) in 2003-04 and also broke the WMU women’s basketball attendance record in a season with 19,850 fans. In 2003, he was a Women’s Basketball Coaches Association/IKON District Coach of the Year nominee.
WMU has appeared in seven conference tournaments, earned votes in national polls and improved their recruiting efforts. They are also a visible member in the Kalamazoo community and have enjoyed upgrades in scheduling and attendance.
The Broncos are active on and off the court spending much time in the Kalamazoo community, participating in the Diabetes Walk and Take a Kid to the Game programs. WMU also takes part in a Pen Pal program with a local elementary school and has helped raise money for area charities. Stewart has served as a guest speaker at BCAM (Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan) clinics and at the Youth Education through Sports program (YES) at the NCAA Women’s Basketball Final Four the last nine seasons. He also is a voting member of the Women’s Basketball Association’s/USA Today Top 25 poll.
A 31-year veteran of the National Association of Basketball Coaches and a 10-year member of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association, Stewart served as a men’s basketball assistant to current UNLV coach Lon Kruger, at Florida (1991-96) and Kansas State (1987-90), playing a key role in helping those programs achieve a high level of success. Florida reached two NCAA tournaments and advanced to the 1994 Final Four. During his four seasons on Kruger’s staff at Kansas State, the Wildcats participated in a school-record four consecutive NCAA tournaments and played in Big Eight and NCAA regional championship games in 1988. He also coached at Southern Methodist (1981-82) and Nebraska (1979-80).
A 1971 graduate of Indiana University, Stewart majored in education and received a master’s degree in education from Butler University in 1977.
Stewart and his wife, June, have two sons, Ryan (21), who is a senior at Western Michigan and Kyle (15). The Stewart family resides in Portage, Mich.
