Houston's Curl Named Coach of the Year by ESPN.com

Joe Curl

Houston women's basketball head coach Joe Curl, the 2004 Conference USA Coach of the Year, who led the Cougars to their first-ever conference regular season championship and a trip to the NCAA post-season for the first time while boasting a school record 27 wins in 2003-04, today was named Coach of the Year by ESPN.com.

Curl was coined Coach of the Year after leading Houston to a school record for most victories (27) en route to its first-ever C-USA regular season and tournament title and a trip to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 12 years. In addition, the Cougars claimed their best record ever in league play with a 13-1 conference mark, while boasting the second-best road record (14-1) in the NCAA this season.

More impressively, this season Houston has earned its highest ranking ever in school history with a No. 11 showing in this week's Associated Press poll and No. 12 in the ESPN/USA Today/WBCA Coaches Poll.

The Cougars have now won 22 of their last 23 games to ride a school-record 12-game winning streak into the Big Dance. Their three losses are respectable -Purdue, Georgia and Louisville - and they have gone 4-2 against ranked opponents this season, including a perfect 3-0 mark against TCU.

Other award winners by ESPN.com include Duke's Alana Beard as Player of the Year and Texas' Tiffany Jackson as Freshman of the Year.