n the 26 years of women's basketball at Florida International University, Head Coach Cindy Russo has been the driving force for 22 seasons. Over that time, she has guided FIU to 20 consecutive winning seasons, including 15 of the past 17 with at least 20 victories. She led her teams to five NCAA Division I Tournament berths, three postseason NITs and two NCAA Division II Tournaments. Russo has also led FIU to seven regular season Trans America Athletic Conference titles and six TAAC Tournament crowns. With 478 victories in the school's history, Russo has coached 459 of them. Overall, she has compiled a 499-195 (.719) record in 24 seasons.
Last season, Coach Russo had no seniors on the squad and still guided it to a 20-win season and postseason WNIT berth. Junior Gergana Slavtcheva made the All-Sun Belt Conference team, marking the tenth consecutive year Russo has had a player selected all-conference. With her first victory of this season, she will have 500 victories in her illustrious career.
In 1998-99, the Golden Panthers played in the Sun Belt Conference for the first season after spending eight years in the Trans America Athletic Conference. FIU finished 23-7 overall, 9-3 in the conference and was ranked in the Top 25 for the third consecutive season. With victories over Harvard, Washington and Western Kentucky the Golden Panthers made a third straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament, and first as an at-large team.
In 1997-98, FIU had its greatest season ever with a 29-2 record, advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. With a 59-45 victory over Marquette in the first round of NCAA play, Russo earned her 400th victory at FIU.
Russo has coached six All-Americans during her tenure and has one player currently playing professionally in the WNBA. Andrea Nagy is playing with the New York Liberty. Former players Dalma Ivanyi (Utah Starzz - WNBA), Gergana Branzova (Detroit Shock - WNBA), Albena Branzova (New York Liberty - WNBA) and Jennifer Bell (Colorado Xplosian - ABL) all spent time in the professional ranks.
Coach Russo's teams first cracked into the national spotlight in 1991-92, when she guided FIU to a 23-10 mark in the Golden Panthers first season in the TAAC. That team earned a berth to the postseason National Women's Invitational Tournament. A year later, she had only nine student-athletes on the roster, yet still managed a 25-6 record. The Golden Panthers won the TAAC with a 12-0 record and outscored their conference opponents by 29.6 points per game, while making a second trip to the WNIT. Following that season, the team received mention in both the Associated Press and USA Today/CNN polls for the first time in school history.
In 1993-94, Russo led her squad to a 25-4 record and a first-ever NCAA Division I Tournament appearance. The following season, she did herself one better. The Golden Panthers, picked as high as No. 16 in preseason national polls, finished 27-5, won an unprecedented fourth consecutive TAAC regular season and tournament championships and upset Old Dominion, 81-76 in the first round of the NCAA Mideast Sub-Regional.
In 1996-97, the Golden Panthers compiled a 21-9 record, despite two major injuries. Russo guided the Golden Panthers to a 12-4 conference record, winning both the regular season and tournament titles. On January 23, 1997, Russo joined an elite group of coaches, as she became only the 29th Division I coach in NCAA history to earn 400 career victories.
In 1997-98, the Golden Panthers returned to the national spotlight when they started the season with a 11-0 record. FIU defeated five NCAA Tournament teams (Purdue, Michigan, Georgia, Miami and Louisville). The Golden Panthers, who failed to receive a vote in the preseason polls, climbed to No. 11 in the Associated Press poll and No. 12 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches' Poll.
Russo began coaching at her alma mater, Old Dominion, as an assistant, following a successful collegiate playing career. She spent two years assisting at ODU before taking the head coaching position at FIU as a graduate assistant for the 1977-78 season.
The following fall, Russo accepted the position of head coach at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas, where she guided the Lady Cardinals to consecutive 20-11 seasons and AIAW playoff berths. She returned to FIU in 1980 and quickly turned the program around. In 1982, FIU enjoyed its first winning season ever compiling 27 wins (a 20-win improvement over the season before), and capturing a ninth-place finish at the AIAW Nationals. For those accomplishments, Russo was selected as Florida's Coach of the Year.
A native of Portsmouth, Virginia, Russo received her bachelor's
degree in Heath and Physical Education from Old Dominion in 1975.
She was one of the first female student-athletes to receive athletic
grant-in-aid at ODU. In 1978, she earned her master's degree in
Physical Education from FIU.
| Cindy Russo's Collegiate Coaching Record | |||
| Year | Wins-Losses | Pct. | Team Honors |
| 1977-78 | 8-14 | .364 | |
| 1978-79 | 20-11 | .645 | AIAW Tournament (Lamar) |
| 1979-80 | 20-11 | .645 | AIAW Tournament (Lamar) |
| 1980-81 | 7-13 | .350 | |
| 1981-82 | 27-10 | .730 | AIAW Tournament |
| 1982-83 | 17-7 | .708 | NCAA Division II Tournament |
| 1983-84 | 17-11 | .607 | |
| 1984-85 | 22-6 | .786 | |
| 1985-86 | 26-2 | .929 | NCAA Division II Tournament |
| 1986-87 | 26-3 | .897 | NCAA Division II Tournament |
| 1987-88 | 21-7 | .750 | |
| 1988-89 | 20-7 | .741 | NSWAC Champion |
| 1989-90 | 20-9 | .690 | NSWAC Champion |
| 1990-91 | 16-13 | .552 | |
| 1991-92 | 23-10 | .697 | TAAC Champion/Postseason WNIT |
| 1992-93 | 25-6 | .806 | TAAC Champion/Postseason WNIT |
| 1993-94 | 25-4 | .862 | TAAC Champion/NCAA Division I Tournament |
| 1994-95 | 27-5 | .844 |
Preseason WNIT/TAAC Champion/ NCAA Division I Tournament |
| 1995-96 | 23-5 | .821 | TAAC Regular Season Champion |
| 1996-97 | 21-9 | .700 | TAAC Champion/NCAA Division I Tournament |
|
|
|
.935 | TAAC Champion/NCAA Division I Tournament |
|
|
|
.767 | NCAA Division I Tournament |
| 1999-2000 |
|
.552 | |
|
|
|
|
Postseason WNIT |
| Totals | 499-195 | .719 | 24 Seasons/11 Post-season Appearances |
Associate Head Coach Inge Nissen
After joining the staff as an assistant coach in 1989, Nissen was promoted to associate head coach prior to the 1992 season. Since then, Nissen and Russo have compiled an amazing 209-61 (.774) record. Nissen has also been a part of five NCAA Tournament teams and three NIT's.
Along with on-floor coaching, travel and budget, Nissen is responsible for establishing the European pipeline that has brought such players as All-American's Albena Branzova, Andrea Nagy, Gergana Branzova and Dalma Ivanyi, as well as All-Conference performers Tatana Pokorna, Zuzana Michalcova and Gergana Slavtcheva to the program.
Prior to joining FIU, Nissen had an astounding playing career both collegiately and professionally. A native of Denmark, Nissen was one of the top amateur players in Europe in the early 1970's. During that time, she played an important role on four national championship teams with Denmark (1972), Norway (1973) and France (1974, 1975 and 1985). In 1976, former Old Dominion University Assistant Coach Russo recruited Nissen to that university.
Nissen helped the Lady Monarchs to the Top-15 national rankings all four of her years there. She led Old Dominion to the National Women's Invitational Tournament Championship in 1978 and the program finished 12th in the final national rankings by the Associated Press. She then capped her collegiate career by leading the Lady Monarchs to the AIAW National Championships in 1979 and 1980. From 1976-80, Kodak, NWIT and the National Scouting Association honored Nissen as an All-American. She was the team's MVP during the 1978, 1979 and 1980 seasons as well as the Outstanding Female Athlete of the Year in 1980.
Nissen finished her career as the school's all-time leader in points (2,647) and rebounds (1,459). Those marks still rank second in the ODU record book. Her single-game career high of 28 rebounds against Longwood College on March 3, 1978 remains a school record as does her 148 free throws in a single season and 518 career free throws. Twice, she scored more than 40 points in a game and her 20 field goals during the NWIT is still that tournament's record. Eight times as a collegian, Nissen scored 32 points or more in a game, five of those occasions were during postseason tournament play.
Nissen was inducted into the Old Dominion Hall of Fame in 1985 and her jersey, No. 42, is one of only three numbers to be retired by the university.
Nissen received her bachelor's degree in French Literature
from Old Dominion in 1990 and is currently pursuing a master's
degree in Sports Management at FIU. Nissen and her husband, Lance
Bennett, live in Perrine, Florida.
| Year |
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| 1992-93 |
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| 1993-94 |
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| 1994-95 |
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| 1995-96 |
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| 1996-97 |
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| 1997-98 |
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| 1998-99 |
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| 1999-2000 |
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| 2000-01 |
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| Totals |
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oining the
Golden Panthers for her fourth season as assistant coach is
Didi Cotton. Her primary responsibilities include recruiting,
on court game and practice coaching, and palyer and film analysis.
Cotton came to FIU after coaching at the high school level and spending numerous years coaching AAU.
Before coming to FIU in 1998, Cotton was the assistant coach of the varsity squad at Western Senior High School in Baltimore, Maryland, and head coach of the junior varsity team. She guided the JV team to a 14-0 record and the Baltimore City Championship. She also developed and monitored a student academic support program.
Cotton also served as the assistant coach for the AAU Baltimore Cougars 13 & Under Girls' Team. She not only assisted the head coach with management and structure of the team, but also designed drills and formats to teach fundamentals of basketball.
In 1997-98, she was part of the Maryland State AAU Champions and finished fifth in the national tournament. In 1996-97, she was the assistant coach for the St. Paul's School for Girls in Brooklandville, Maryland. She also worked with the University of Maryland and University of Connecticut instructional summer camps.
Cotton graduated in 1996 from Goucher College (Md.) with a bachelor's degree in business management. She is ranked second on the school's all-time leading scorer list, with 1,516 points. She was named first-team All-Conference from 1994-96 and received MVP honors in 1995. She was a regional All-American in 1995 and 1996.
"Didi has taken over the recruitment in the state of Florida," says Head Coach Cindy Russo. "She is well known by most of the Florida high school coaches and travels throughout the state on a consistent basis. She has truly become an expert with the statewide talent."
oining
FIU for her second season as assistant coach is Andrea Nagy. As
one of the greatest players in school history, she helped the
Golden Panthers to two NCAA appearances in 1994 and 95. She finished
her career averaging 14.5 points, 3.6 rebounds and 9.4 assists,
the fourth best assist average in NCAA history.
She is third in school history with 1,812 career points. Nagy's career awards include being selected first team All-America by Kodak, the United States Basketball Writer's Association and USA Today.
Nagy has played professionally since 1995 in the defunct American Basketball League, two seasons with the Washington Mystics and the past season with the New York Liberty of the WNBA. Her career per game totals with the Mystics were 4.8 assists, 4.7 points and 2.6 rebounds.
"Andrea has a tremendous amount
of experience to add to this team," says Coach Russo. "She
adds a positive element to our coaching staff. The fact that she
is playing in the WNBA adds a certain presence. She is well respected
throughout the world by players and coaches alike."
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