Houston's Curl Named AP Coach of the Year

Joe Curl

Houston's Joe Curl won the Associated Press Coach of the Year award in women's basketball on Saturday after leading his team through a championship season. He also received the USWBA Coach of the Year honor earlier in the week.

Curl, who guided Houston to a school record for victories in a 28-4 season, received 19 votes. Goestenkors had nine and was followed by Jody Conradt of Texas with seven, Penn State's Rene Portland (5), Tennessee's Pat Summitt (3) and Purdue's Kristy Curry (2). Mississippi's Carol Ross and West Virginia's Mike Carey each had one vote.

"It's really about the players, and I really, truly mean that," Curl said. "I look at this as a really neat thing for our program. I'm very humbled by that, very proud."

Houston won the Conference USA regular-season and tournament titles and reached the NCAA tournament for the first time in 12 years. Just five years ago, in Curl's first season at the school, the Cougars were 5-22.

Curl jokes that he's a better cook than coach, and he puts those skills to use on football Saturdays, when he and his players grill hot dogs for tailgating fans. He also believes athletes should be active beyond the court and requires his players to perform at least 50 hours of community service every year.

"I'm really not a coach first," Curl said. "First I'm a Christian, second I'm a husband, third I'm the father of two daughters plus the whole basketball team, fourth on the list I'm a teacher and fifth, I'm a coach.

"I take that coaching title very seriously, but to be the best coach you can be, you have to be better at the first four things on the list than the last one."