Athens, Ohio -- Ohio University Director of Athletics, Thomas Boeh, announced today at a school press conference that Lynn Bria has been hired as the school's eighth Head Women's Basketball Coach. Bria, a Charleston, W.Va., native, comes to Ohio from the University of Central Florida in Orlando, where she guided the Golden Knights to the 1999 NCAA Tournament. Bria is the second-winningest women's basketball coach in UCF history.
"This appointment follows an exhaustive process of recruiting and screening," said Boeh. "Throughout the search it became increasingly clear that Lynn Bria is a highly thoughtful and articulate individual with uncompromising integrity, a strong commitment to academic achievement, and a driven will to win. Lynn clearly possesses all the necessary professional tools and complements them with a truly engaging personality. We are very enthused to have her take over the Ohio women's basketball program and believe that it simply could not be in better hands."
Bria, 31, served as Head Coach at UCF for the past three seasons where she compiled a 50-36 record. Last season under her direction, the Golden Knights won the Trans America Athletic Conference regular season title and the TAAC tournament title and advanced to the NCAA tournament.
UCF lost in the first round of the NCAA tournament to Final Four participant Louisiana Tech, but finished the season with a 22-10 overall record and a 13-3 TAAC regular season record. The 1998-99 UCF team also became the first in school history to win the conference championship and just the second to advance to the NCAA tournament. Bria's three-year regular season record in TAAC play is 33-15 (.687).
"Lynn Bria is an up and coming star in women's basketball," Orlando Magic General Manager Pat Williams said. "She's a tremendous person and will do a wonderful job. She has an unlimited future and will go to any heights in the game that she wants to and it is a wonderful hire for Ohio University."
Bria took over the Golden Knights for the 1996-97 season and posted records of 13-15, 17-11, and 20-10 in her three seasons at UCF. She served as interim head coach during her first season in Orlando due to the untimely death of then-Head Coach Jerry Richardson.
Bria replaces Marsha Reall, who served as Ohio's head coach for the past nine seasons. Boeh announced last month that Reall's contract would not be renewed for the 1999-2000 season.
"I am delighted and excited that Lynn Bria will join us as head coach for women's basketball. She knows the region, she knows basketball, and she has the character, charm, and convincing experience as a head coach to be immensely successful at Ohio," Ohio University President Robert Glidden said.
A 1990 graduate of the University of Charleston (W.Va.), Bria took over the UCF program after spending three seasons as Head Basketball Coach at Texas Women's University in Denton, Texas. Before taking over the women's basketball program at TWU, she served two seasons as an assistant coach at Marshall (W.Va.) University and was an assistant coach for one year at Radford (Va.) University.
As a basketball and tennis player at Charleston, Bria was named first-team All-West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletics Conference as a senior and was twice named to the honorable mention team. She helped the Golden Eagles to the NAIA national tournament twice in her four seasons and was also named to the conference all-tournament team as a junior. In tennis, Bria was named all-conference as a senior and helped the team to the national tournament.
A 1985 Charleston Catholic High School graduate, Bria is one of nine children born to Sam and Jo Nancy Bria. Bria is an active member of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.